The Zenza
by The Strawberry Phoenix
Summary: Sequel to Over the Stars. Irk and its allies are prospering. But when the rise of an old enemy results in the kidnapping of Zim and Tak's smeet, Ezzy, only Ria the Auto-Defect can save her and discover the true plan behind the enemy's return.
1. Poem

I am the voice of Dragons past

I don't own Invader Zim, but I do own the poem

* * *

_The Zenza, the Zenza, the seer of things_

_Mightier than weapons, higher than kings_

_The Zenza, the Zenza, to the edge, my friend_

_For the watcher of all will find balance again._


	2. Life

Life

I am the voice of Dragons past

This is the first chapter of my new story THE ZENZA, sequel to Over the Stars

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

Two golden eyes cracked open from their rest through the night. Ria the Auto-Defect sat up in her bed. Her room had a bunch of little objects from different planets that she had collected over time. Moonstones from the third moon of the planet Umber, a seashell from the vacation planet Hydrotia, and several other objects, among them, her favorite, a policeman's cap she had fished off of Earth. She got out of bed and did that oh-it-feels-so-good-in-the-morning morning stretch.

_I wonder what I'll do today? Maybe go see is Yule lost a finger yet._

At eleven Irken years old, Ria was no longer a smeet, but she wasn't a mature Irken yet. At age twelve, all young Irkens went through the maturing, where their bodies changed and so did their personalities, sometimes by a lot, sometimes not by much. She was caught in that awkward between age, neither one nor the other. Ria had crammed her mind full of Irken history and such back when she was a smeet, and now found herself in a very bad situation. She was bored with her life here on Irk, but she was too afraid to leave it behind. Not that life here was horrible. Of course not! She had everything she could want. She had servants who helped her with anything she needed help with, she had the ship and gardens, no, the _cities_ as her playground, she had the best food, the best clothing, the best access to any knowledge. You get perks when you're the closest friend of the Tallest. Ria couldn't really call Zim anything else. She used to see him as a big brother figure, but now that she was no longer a smeet, she felt she really didn't need anymore guidance from him.

Irk had gone through so many changes. Gardens and dirt plots existed all over the planet. An artificial lake had been made with the pure water from Hydro. Irkens lived together as families with their own natural born smeets. When the Irkens had been able to have their own smeets again, it was decided that the smeets still in the Smeeterie would be allowed to be born, but no more were to be created. It was a good thing this was decided. Gaz and Dib, the only humans on Irk, had been getting on in years. Humans didn't live as long as Irkens. So Control Brain Miyuki had done the incredible. She downloaded everything they were into two PAKs and those PAKs were attached to smeets from the Smeeterie. They _became _those smeets.

Ria pricked her antennae, feeling the dead half that had gotten caught in some gears when she was younger, brush the back of her head. _I wonder if the smeets are up?_

Zim and Tak's three year old smeet shared her room with three other smeets. It wasn't really _her _room, they all called it the nursery.

Ria smirked. She found it funny that Zim and Tak's smeet had been named after her, her former name Ezari, but no one called her that. Back when Ria was Ezari, that was all Zim had called her. Now that his own daughter was named Ezari, he, like everyone else, called her Ezzy. Ria wondered if the true name Ezari would be forgotten forever. The other smeets in the nursery were Piper, her twin brother Lexe, and Neemi. Gaz and Dib had their own rooms. Piper and Lexe were the twin offspring of Tenn and Exel. Piper had inherited her father's two colored eyes, Lexe had magenta eyes. Tenn was one of Zim's advisers, Exel was a smeet attendant who worked in the Smeeterie. Once his halls were empty, he wanted to move to the smeet ward in the hospital. Neemi was the son of advisers Skoodge and Zee. He had pink eyes. He always seemed slightly..._off. _She was positive he was bipolar or something like it.

* * *

"I'm up, but I'm not awake," Ria tramped into the kitchen.

"Good morning, merry sunshine," said Yule. This red eyed female had once been a hired hand guard, but now she was their personal chef and mate to former Tallest Purple.

"Where's Red?" she looked back into the kitchen to see Purple, but his brother was nowhere in sight.

"I'm not quite sure. I think he's talking with Zim, but I don't know where they went."

"Thanks," Ria left the kitchen and cafeteria. She went to the upper levels of the Massive, but stopped outside a room. The sounds of squealing voices came from inside. This was the nursery. She opened the door, only to be tackled by four little smeets.

"Ria!" Neemi cheered.

"Get off,' she grunted. One smeet was no problem, but four weighing down on you was a little painful. Even though they were only between three and two years old.

"Can you take us outside?" Piper begged. "We haven't gone out in forever," she stretched out 'forever' dramatically. "Not since mama and auntie and uncle have been busy and daddy is away in his halls."

"I've got an appointment to keep, but-hey!" she said to a passing servant, "could you take them to the closed play area outside?"

"Of course," said the servant cheerfully. They had many drones working under them, but the drones weren't demeaned like they used to be. These drones managed housework and other errands, and were paid a livable amount of monies. "Come along smeets." He herded them together.

As they walked off, Ezzy looked back at Ria. That smeet...she was so adorable. Her eyes, the perfect color mixture of Tak's amethyst and Zim's magenta, were wide and sparky. She was a very quiet smeet. This mostly due to a brief traumatic point in her early life. The Meekrob known as St'lar had been doing crimes against the Empire. He had been brought to Judementia for his sentence with Zim, Tak, Ria, Lady Frith'gen, and a new born Ezzy in attendance. Halfway through the session, St'lar took a flying leap at Zim, causing a great disorder. Ria had leapt in front of Zim, a knife in hand, while Frith'gen had shielded Tak and Ezzy with her own body. The trial did not continue, he was found guilty and taken away. Even though no harm had come to Ezzy, the fear of that moment had been enough to scare her. St'lar later escaped from the Vortian jail with the help of an accomplice. He was still at large.

"Go on," Ria waved her away. "I'll play when you guys come back in. I promise."

The little smeet smiled and went off with her nursery mates. Ria continued up to the bridge, hoping to find Red and Zim. She got lucky.

"Hey!" she called.

The two taller Irkens were in a deep discussion over something she couldn't hear. But both quickly acknowledged her presence.

"Red, I have a picnic date with Miyuki, you wanna come?"

He looked thoughtful. "Sure, I'll come along. Do you need anything more Zim?"

"No, I'm set."

"Let's go, Red," Ria called. Zim scratched at his forehead, watching them go. The Irken people were completely dedicated to their Tallest, and the one thing they refused to believe was that Zim's beloved mate, Tak, had given him those scars. It's true though, Tak had done it back when they hated each other. Ria didn't know why it was so hard making the Irkens believe.

* * *

"Hello Ria!" Miyuki greeted cheerfully.

"Morning Miyuki. You know," said Ria as she set down her basket, "you should really have a decorator come in and freshen this place up. It looks too drab."

"I live under a...a..."

"Hospital," Ria helped.

"Yes, that's the word. The above is a sterile environment, and below, here, is a sterile environment."

"I hear you." Ria helped herself to some of the food she brought along, handing Red a few to make his choice. "I'm at a crossroad."

"Oh?" said the Control Brain. "In life?"

"Yeah. You see, I'm bored with life here, I know everything, I've done everything. I can't get my pilot's license until I'm twelve. Since I'm not in the military, I can't take a transport ship by myself to any planet other than Foodcourtia. I...but I do have a great problem. I've been through too much in my life, I worked hard to get here. Now...I'm afraid to leave it."

"I see."

"I don't," Red munched on some doughnuts.

Miyuki ignored him. "You're bored with your life now, the same routine, but because of your fear of the past, you're afraid to go off and leave this life behind."

"What should I do?" Ria asked.

"I'm not quite sure. No Irken has ever been in your position. I think maybe you should try to do a little traveling, get it out of your system."

"I can only go to Foodcourtia."

"Then go to Foodcourtia, stay a bit. Just get a change of scenery then come back. Maybe you'll feel better."

Ria smiled. "Thanks Miyuki, I've always trusted your judgement. Always."

* * *

The closed off play area was at a corner in the grounds. The grounds were expansive gardens, open to any Irken wanting to see. The servant sat at attention while the smeets played. He always wanted to do the best job ever. He liked his job.

_Smeets are wonderful, maybe I'll have some someday._

A horrible blinding pain shoot through him. Before he could cry out, he was down. The smeets continued to play, too focused to realize their assigned guardian was unconscious. Ezzy wandered over, reclaiming a lost toy. She saw him lying down.

"Hello? I didn't know grown-ups had nap time."

A dark figure rose above the body of the servant. Ezzy froze in terror and dropped the toy.

"You're coming with me," said the figure in a harsh voice. The figure grabbed her, covering her screams, but the other smeets noticed.

Neemi, Piper, and Lexe jumped to their feet. Their PAKs had no weapons yet, but each was already activating their homing chips. They only did this when they needed their parents to come find them THAT MINUTE. It was a fear signal.

"If any of you are smart, you'll stay silent." The figure advanced forward. It was stopped by a hand grabbing the back of it.

"You'll do no such thing!" The injured servant gasped out

"You naive fool."

* * *

ohhhh spooky!

Ria's life is about to get interesting.

Please note: Neemi's name is pronounced with a long 'i' sound (Nee-mie)


	3. Theft

Theft

I am the voice of Dragons past

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

"Zee! Skoodge!" Tenn was running through the halls, desperately trying to find her fellow advisers and not trip on her robes. "Piper and Lexe's homing chips went off! They're in danger! Zee! Skoodge! Where are you? !"

"Tenn!" Zee stepped out from a branch hall. "We heard the homing chip from Neemi! The nursery's empty! Where did they go?"

"I don't know! Where's the tracker? Their chips show up on the tracker!" Tenn paused before rushing to an intercom microphone on the wall. "GIR! Get down here!"

The robot dropped from the ceiling, landing flat on the floor. He didn't move.

"GIR!" Tenn spoke sharply. "Where's tracker for the smeets' chips?"

He sat up. "I don't know."

"Well I think you do know! GIR, the homing chips went off. The smeets are in danger."

He got a genuinely horrified expression on his face before coughing up the tracker. Despite it being covered in who-knows-what, Tenn grabbed it.

"They're outside. Probably in the play area. Let's go!" The three advisers, and GIR, quickly rushed off the ship and onto the grounds. Weaving between the gardens, they made their way to the closed off play area. "Piper! Lexe!"

"Neemi! Where are you? !" Skoodge and Zee called.

"Little Ri-Ri!" GIR shouted.

"Mommy!" Piper shot out of a hole and wrapped herself around Tenn's leg. In their fear, the smeets had somehow dug into the ground. There was no dirt over here. "He took Ezzy! She's gone!" the little smeet began sobbing.

Tenn scooped her up. "What happened? Who took Ezzy?"

Lexe and Neemi crawled out of the hole. They pointed over to the bloodied body of the servant, too terrified to speak.

"He tried to protect us," Piper whimpered.

Zee checked for signs of life. The servant groaned. "Ezzy...he t-took her. Said that...she will pay."

"Who will?" Zee asked.

"Said...we all will pay. But she would...the most. He took her...to make... Ria suffer."

Skoodge helped him up, using his own body as a crutch. Zee and Tenn carried the smeets, too afraid to even let them walk. Skoodge hurried the servant off to the hospital, while the females returned to the ship. There were two people they knew could find out what happened. They were skilled in that field.

"Dib! Gaz!"

* * *

Smeet attendant Exel had heard the homing chips for his son and daughter go off. So...he was off. But, even in this haste of emergency, he bounced down to the lower floor. "Ria!"

The golden eyed Irken looked up from her drink. "What? !"

"Piper and Lexe's chips went off! They're in danger!"

Ria's cup fell from her hand. "I know where they are. C'mon Red! Miyuki, I'm sorry."

"Run! Don't apologize to me!" urged the Control Brain.

The three Irkens fled the hospital. Ria felt terror well up inside her. Piper and Lexe weren't stupid, it took something scary to really frighten them. If they activated their chips, this was serious. The smeets were in real danger. _What could it be? There are no wild animals, we're not at war with anyone, and no alien would be foolish enough to touch one of those smeets. _Once they were on the grounds, the three headed over to the play area. There was a hole dug into the non-dirt ground, and blood stains.

"What happened?" Red whispered.

"I'm almost too scared to know," said Exel, "but if they've hurt my smeets-"

"Come on!" Ria ordered. She knew how to take authority, and now was the time to do it. "To the Massive! Dib's security cameras may be prototypes, but they must have captured something."

* * *

Screaming was a reoccurring thing in these halls, but not in fear. There were screams of laughter and fake-fear. This wasn't playing.

"What's going on?" said Tak. She could hear the other occupants of this giant ship running through the halls and shouting. She ended up going to Dib's room. "Why the screaming?" Everyone was in there.

"Someone attacked the smeets!" Tenn told her.

"What? ! But Ezzy's chip didn't go off!"

Dib was trying to connect his cameras. He and his sister had once been humans, but humans didn't live as long as Irkens. Not by a long shot. So they had downloaded everything they were into PAKs and those PAKs were attached to smeets from the Smeeterie. He was technically a two year old smeet, but he still had all his memories, so everyone referred to him and Gaz as older than they looked. "I'm in! Let me just find the right camera that was trained onto the play area."

"Where's Ezzy?" said Tak. Her amethyst eyes were wildly searching the room. "Where is she? !"

Ria looked up to the monitors. The video played out. The smeets were playing, nothing out of the ordinary. No one seemed scared or anything. Suddenly the servant fell flat, a dark figure looming over him. Ezzy wandered over, then realized the figure. It picked her up then appeared to be speaking to the smeets. The servant woke up and confronted it, but he was knocked aside again. The smeets picked up any toy that was pointed at one end and began digging into the ground. The figure ran off with Ezzy, passing directly in front of the camera.

"No," Ria whimpered. "Not him." But there was no mistaking those wounds. Those scars. It was St'lar.

"Call planet Meekrob!" Tak ordered. "Tell them what's happened!"

Red was about to run off and do so, but the doorway was blocked. "What's happened?" asked Zim.

Ria felt sick to her stomach. "Ezzy's gone. St'lar kidnapped her."

* * *

Frith'gen arrived in no time. "I left as soon as I got the call. Zim, Tak, I'm so sorry! We should have executed him. We didn't think he would do such a thing!"

Tak was taking deep gulps of air. "It's not your fault, Lady Frith'gen. He had betrayed the Meekrob and the Alliance. You couldn't control him anymore."

"We have to do something," said Ria. "Send out every ship! Scour planets and comets to find them! The Irken Empire is behind you all the way!" She stood at the ready, prepared to run off and do her Tallest's bidding. "Zim?"

"Transmission coming through!" said the Massive's computer voice.

St'lar appeared on screen. "Hello all. You've probably figured out what's happened-"

"You bastard!" Ria shouted.

"Let me finish, you sniveling piece of shit! As you may know, I have your precious smeet. Let's get something straight here, Lady Frith'gen, you gave up too easily on conquering the Irken Empire."

"The war is over, St'lar!" said Frith'gen. "Give yourself up!"

"I can't do that. You see, I am loyal to the Meekrob Dynasty, so loyal in fact, that I'm doing what it couldn't do. _I _will conquer the Irkens!"

"By stealing our children? !" cried Tak.

"Hell no! The runt is just a living shield. As long as I have her, you can't touch me! And don't bother trying to rescue her. I have a psychic field set up around Irk, if I catch any PAK or AI signals leaving the planet, I'll kill her."

"No," Tak whimpered. "Please no."

Zim gritted his teeth. "We have our allies, St'lar. Those who are loyal to us, and we to them."

"You forget, I grew up on Meekrob, and I spent much time in my Vortian prison. I know how to dodge them, just not Irkens. That is why I've stolen your daughter. Remember, if I catch any PAK or AI signals, she dies," he taunted. "Bye bye!" The screen went blank.

"We have to alert everyone," said Frith'gen.

"But what good will it do?" said Red. "They'll only panic and fret over a situation where they can't do anything."

Gaz narrowed her amber smeet eyes. "There has to be something we can do. Maybe send out GIR and MiMi-"

"But they're Artificial Intelligence," Yule pointed out. "St'lar will pick up their signals."

"What else can we do?"

Tak finally broke down. She collapsed to the floor, sobbing loudly.

Ria looked down at her with sad golden eyes. _What are we going to do? Ezzy..._

* * *

St'lar's back! That bastard!


	4. Setting Out

Setting Out

I am the voice of Dragons past

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

The Empire was in an uproar. After the news of what St'lar had done was released, all Irkens began converging to the Massive. Their immediate reaction was to all jump on their ships and take off after the Meekrob, but the message had emphasized Ezzy's predicament. Not being able to leave the planet, they moved toward their Tallest for guidance.

Ria stood at the doorway to the Massive, looking down the ramp at all the Irkens in the grounds. "What are we going to do?"

Red stood beside her. "I don't know. Nothing can leave the planet. Nothing of ours that's alive or intelligent." He sighed. "Sometimes the PAKs are our downfall. We die without them and they cast off life signals."

Ria was only half listening to the crimson Irken speak, but she heard his last words. _We die without our PAKs, which is why we can't take them off and leave. But..._ her golden eyes narrowed in thought, _I can survive without my PAK. _"Great Irk!"

"What? !" Red flinched from her sudden outburst.

She turned to face him. "We can't remove our PAKs and leave the planet."

"Right, we'll die."

Ria wagged her finger "But _I _don't."

He was too surprised from the realization to speak.

"I can leave the planet, I won't die from no PAK. We gotta tell the others!"

* * *

Everyone was currently at the bridge. Every scenario was being played out by the Massive computer. Perfect battle and plans and rescues, but they all involved leaving the planet, which none of them could do.

"Since you can't get the ships off of your planet either," said Frith'gen, "how about we try my Meekrob ships?"

"But he's studied the Meekrob ships and Vortian ships," said Zim. "He knows how to evade them. He doesn't know anything about Irken ships."

There was a loud thud against the door before it slid open, revealing an angry Ria. "Why won't the door open on its own? Forget it! I know how to rescue Ezzy!"

"You do?"

"We can't leave the planet because of PAK and AI signals, but I can live without my PAK. I can go find them."

"Nice plan and all," said Frith'gen, "but you're forgetting a crucial factor. Every ship comes equipped with an AI program, they can't function without them. When you find a vessel without a brain, then this plan will work."

Ria deflated. "I don't think those even exist anymore."

"Wait," said Tak. She had stopped mourning after realizing that crying wasn't going to help anyone. "I recall a familiar pain in my back from this day. The shuttle. Remember when we stole it from the museum?"

"Yeah," Ria felt hope returning.

"It's an older ship, so I'm sure it doesn't have a program."

"It's not the kind of ship that can be manually flown. You enter the coordinates and hope for the best. If we fix it up and aim carefully, we could shoot me off to Meekrob or Vort and I can get a real ship and go after them." She paused and thought about it a little. "Only problem is, I can't remember where we put it. We brought it with us when we came back here, along with the other stuff."

"The pool and ping-pong tables," said Red.

"The pinball machine," said Zee.

"Yes, yes, but where did we store the shuttle?"

Exel tugged at Red's sleeve and led him toward the door. "We'll find it and set it up in the grounds."

"Good, said Ria. "I'll need supplies and weapons. I'm not sure how long the journey will take. But first, I need to change."

* * *

During most days, Ria wore play clothes underneath her royal robes. She actually spent most of her time roof jumping and climbing towers, or hanging out in her watchtower she and Exel had built, so she made sure appropriate clothes were worn. Now, she had changed completely out of her robes. She wore a one piece blue suit with long loose sleeves and pant legs, so they covered her gloves and boots. She had on a gray sleeveless jacket that ended in a split tailcoat and a brown belt around her slender waist. She had removed her PAK and left it at the bridge, so now she wore a backpack with a leather strap crossing from her shoulder to the opposite hip.

_Just one last thing._

She looked over to her work table. On it lay a metallic body. Long ago, she had had a mutant companion from Earth. He had been a parrot-dog, covered in green fur with feathers on his front legs, a plumy feathered tail, taloned feet, a mouth with lips ending in a hardened beak, and soft fuzzy ears. She had called him Xan. He had been sucked into a black hole while on the Massive. She never saw him again. But this robot she was building herself was modeled after him.

It wasn't a SIR unit, just a robot. Silver armor with darker gray joints, a small horn lifting from the beak for gutting purposes. She had implanted purple eyes, but it was deactivated right now. And, instead of a tail, she had put in a fire core. When she was going to get around to finding it a brain, the fire core would become its tail, a fire tail.

"I guess now its a good thing I didn't finish you." She picked it up. It was almost twice as big as GIR or MiMi, so a bit of a weight. "You can come with me. I'll get you a brain on Vort, and I'll teach you everything about him, so maybe you'll...become him." A single tear slid down her cheek. "...Xan," she whimpered, "all other animals on Earth either stole from me or chased me away. You were my pet, my friend. This robot can never replace you, but it'll keep your memory alive."

She wiped her face with her sleeve. _I have a job to do. I'm not a little smeet anymore. Though I'm not mature yet, I'm an Irken!_

"You've done so much, and you're becoming a hero all over again." Tak was standing in the doorway.

Ria narrowed her eyes as memories passed through her head. "I'll find them, and make him pay. He's messed with us too many times. He's the reason she's so quiet and timid."

"But I love her anyway, just as I love you. You've faced many hardships. Do you really think he'll give up easily?"

"That's what this is for," Ria held up her robot's body.

"I'm being serious Ria, he's not going to give her up without a fight. And..." her eyes had a grave look in them, "I've the feeling he's plotting something horrible. He must have an incredible plan to be so cocky in thinking he, a single Meekrob, a handicapped one at that, can take down the whole Irken Empire."

"No matter what, I'll beat him and bring Ezzy home. I promise."

* * *

It was a very interesting sight, really. The gathered Irkens had cleared away to give Red and Exel plenty of room in fixing the shuttle. Every time one of them needed a certain tool that wasn't there, the Irkens would pass the word down the line, someone would run off, and within minutes, the tool was passed forward to them.

Ria made her way down the ramp, MiMi right behind, carrying her Xan robot. "I'm worried I won't fit in there anymore."

"Don't worry," said Red. "You only need to stay inside until you get to Vort, not a long time. Yule and Purple called ahead and told the Vortians what we're doing. They're ready with a ship for you."

"Perfect." Ria peered inside the shuttle. It was very small, but it had been used for her transport as smeet, and she had been an undersized smeet. "Is it almost ready?"

"Yule's salvaging a booster from one of the warships. Ah, here she comes now."

Several Irkens jumped away from the crowd to help her pull the hovercraft with the booster. "I got one from _Comet!_" she said. "It was the fastest of the warships."

As they set to fixing the booster on, Ria decided to do one last thing. "I'll be back, but if you need me, go to the hospital."

* * *

Ria manually slid open the door. "Hello Miyuki."

"Is it true? Ezzy's gone?"

"Yes, but don't worry. I'm going after her."

"There are benefits to being an Auto-Defect."

"Not many, but this is at the top of the list."

"No Ria, you don't get it. Irkens have been in situations where the PAK killed them off many times before. All an enemy has to do is create a force that will react to a PAK signal."

"Zim said he experienced one like that on Foodcourtia. The doorway to Sizz-Lorr's restaurant was locked on his bio-signature and if he passed through it, he would explode."

"I'm not quite sure if that's the same thing, but that's basically what happens. You can do what no other Irken can. Only you can leave the planet."

"And that's what I'm going to do."

Miyuki's many eyes flashed. "The others are hailing you. I think it's time to go."

"Goodbye Miyuki, see you when I come back." She left the room.

Miyuki sighed sadly. "_If _you come back, my dear child."

* * *

Ria groaned. "How is this going to work? I need to get other stuff in there too."

"What else are you taking?" asked Zim.

"My robot and my hover board. Both will be useful."

"Well, you're going to have to squeeze in with them."

Ria positioned the board and robot off to the side in the shuttle before climbing in. It was a tight fit. "I think I'm sitting on a screw."

"You're gonna have to deal with it for a bit." Zim put his hand on the door hatch. "Ria, thank you for what you're doing."

"Ezzy's my sister, at least I see her as one. You guys would risk everything to rescue me. In fact, you have!"

"Farewell." He shut the hatch.

"Until we meet again."

* * *

The ride was erratic. First off, the shuttle wasn't designed for the size of the booster that Yule had taken from _Comet, _so Ria was basically having a panic attack from the shaking and tremors that wracked the shuttle. Second, the coordinates couldn't be changed or adjusted. It was a straight shot to Vort, or bust.

"Oh great Irk!" Ria yanked at the dead part of her antennae. "I think I'm gonna die before I even get there!"

But the jarring through her bones from the landing told her otherwise. She heard faint voices before the hatch opened up.

"Oh look, heaven has Vortians. I'm kidding, I'm fine." She climbed out, testing each cramped leg before putting weight on it. She stretched her arms and cracked her back. "That hurt."

"Welcome to Vort," said one of the Vortians. "Your ship is waiting, but Captain Lard Nar wishes to discuss something with you."

"Okay, I only have the robot and the hover board, so if you could please load them on board?"

"Of course!" They set to it.

"Hello Ria," Lard Nar approached her with Ixane and Shloonktapooxis. "It's been awhile."

"Comrade!" Ixane bounded over. "You're not a little smeet anymore, that's too bad, you were cute."

Ria raised an antenna. "I can only hope you're kidding. Now Lard Nar, what is it you need to discuss with me?"

He extended his hand to her. "Please come with me."

* * *

i brought back Ria's ability to live without her PAK. It works out for storyline! Yay! I love it when a plan comes together.


	5. Vexer

Vexer

I am the voice of Dragons past

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

"What do you need to show me?"

"Someone who can help you in your cause," said Lard Nar as they walked along. "Because of what this planet was being used for-"

"Sorry."

"It's quite alright. Because of what this planet was being used for, we have many prison defenses of the highest model. St'lar was sent here after his trial outburst. He was cooperative, but refused to talk with anyone for weeks. After we gave up on making him speak, he found a comrade in Vexer, one of our own prisoners."

"What's Vexer in for?"

"Sabotage, stealing, that kind of stuff. He's not a murderer, in fact, he goes out of his way to make sure he doesn't personally harm anyone in his plans. Whether they are harmed by the after affect doesn't matter. St'lar and Vexer became really chummy, but we thought nothing of it. Now I realize we should have been more observant."

_Maybe you should have! _she wanted to snap, but she didn't. Lard Nar was her friend, and he was trying to help.

"The only reason St'lar managed to escape, was because Vexer was helping him."

"What makes you think Vexer will help me now?"

"I know he'll help you because St'lar left him behind. He said they were comrades, and the blasted Meekrob abandoned him. He hasn't spoken since, but his hate is boiling. He wants revenge. And you can do it for him."

"But what exactly does he know about St'lar?"

"That, you'll have to find out on your own. Here we are." They stood before a small building, almost home-sized. Two guards, one Vortian, another had three heads, a member of the Resisty, stood on each side of the door. They saluted as Ria and Lard Nar slipped through the door. "I leave you here, you must keeping going on your own. His cell is upstairs, we had to move him to a private one."

Ria looked up the staircase. "Lard Nar, can I ask a favor of you?"

"What is it?"

"I have a blank robot that the Vortians are moving from my shuttle to my ship, could you find a brain chip for it?"

"I would be glad to. Just call the guards if something goes wrong" He left to get her the chip.

Ria climbed the stairs, thinking a plan through as she took each step. _He wants revenge on St'lar, I can do it for him. But how much does he know? Does he know anything that could help? Or is this just lost cause? _She paused before an iron door. Taking in a deep breath, she opened it and stepped inside. The cell bars were about halfway across the room, and, sitting behind them, was a Vortian. He glared at her, watching her every move.

"I am Ria the Auto-De-"

"I know who you are...and I know why you're here."

She was stunned, but didn't let it show. "Good then, formalities can be tossed away. If you know why I'm here, then this may go a lot smoother."

"It could," he said.

"That's really up to you, isn't it?" Ria took in another breath and slowly let it out. "I need all the information on St'lar you can give me."

"...And tell me this, why should I give it to you?"

"Because I can do what you can't, I can make him pay for everything he's done."

He seemed to think that over for a bit. "St'lar promised me that if I helped him escape, we'd do it together."

"But he broke that promise."

"Correct. He escaped and left me behind."

"How do you know he left you? Maybe he's just plotting and coming back to get you."

"No, he laughed in my face and stabbed my hand. He's not coming back."

"Ouch," she said, more thinking about the betrayal than the wound. "But if you help me, he'll pay for what he did, and more."

"You make it sound so tempting," he said sarcastically, "but the thing is, I will lose nor gain nothing. My sabotage was against you Irkens, so why should I help?"

_Because if you don't I'm going to rip your horns off and tie your twig legs in a pretzel._

"I can tell by the look on your face that you're thinking of doing horrible things to me. You want to find St'lar to rescue Ezari."

"And only you can help me."

He stared deep into her eyes, more into her soul. His eyes searched deep inside her, trying to see what was pure. Ria could only breathe as calmly as she could as he scrutinized her. He finally sighed. "I've decided to help you. I feel as though I should do at least one good deed in this universe, or else I will be hated even after I am dead. This way, I will be remembered as the jailbird Vortian who help Ria the Auto-Defect Hero."

"They're not going to kill you, are they?"

"No, my crimes are petty. My sabotage didn't work, so who cares anymore? I guess they'll let me go within time, but they'll watch me. Making sure I don't compromise the Alliance."

"It's better than being locked up."

"But with every movement I make being watched, am I truly free?"

Ria raised an antennae. "I guess not. I...I wouldn't know the feeling. Back on Earth, nobody paid attention to me, I was street scum."

"Listen well. St'lar had me tell him of the fastest ship we have near here. As I told him of the resources and things we could use, he filled my head with the thoughts of escaping, taking down the Irken Empire, and returning as a hero to my species. I was a bit unwilling because Vort was prospering with the Alliance. But St'lar said he had voices on the outside, and they said Irk was planning a coup d'etat against Meekrob and Vort."

"Do you still believe that?"

"I'm finding it harder and harder."

She smiled. He told it as a joke.

"We escaped by starting a riot and climbing into some busted electrical pipes. We managed to crawl all the way to the outside. I led him to the ship, but the guards were closing in. He went aboard and started up the ship. I was standing at the doorway when I was shot in the shoulder and fell. I was clinging to the ship by one hand. He loomed over me, laugh, called me a fool, then drove a tendril right into my hand. I fell and they rearrested me. But he got away."

"But what is his plan? Where would he go?"

"He didn't tell me exactly what it was he was planning. He didn't trust me enough."

"You can't tell me anything else?"

"There is one thing..." he trailed off and turned his head away.

Ria waited a few moments, hopeful he would continue. When he didn't, she rose to her feet, thoroughly pissed, and started to leave the room.

"Look to the North."

She turned back. "Wh-what?"

"That's all I can tell you, look to the North."

"Is that where he's heading?"

"It was all he'd tell me. 'Look to the North, Vexer, there lies the power. Soon we will be heroes'."

Ria bowed her head. "Thank you for the information." She exited the room, leaving the Vortian behind. _Look to the North? What lies North?_

* * *

"Comrade, you seemed troubled. Is the food bad?"

Ria looked down at her plate, "No Ixane. Vexer told me something, I don't know what to think."

The cloaked alien leaned back in her chair. "What did he tell you?" The two were in folding chairs on a landing mat. A few check-overs were being done to Ria's ship.

" 'Look to the North'."

"Hmm, sounds like a riddle. Think it through logically. What lies North?"

"I don't know...Judgementia?"

"When in space, the four directions are corrupted. Any direction could be any direction. 'North' must be a place that St'lar is going, especially if Vexer told you."

"Do you know him personally?"

"He used to be a member of the Resisty."

"Ah, was his word good?"

"It still is. If Vexer told you this, it's important. Find out whatever this North is, and you'll find St'lar."

Lard Nar approached them. "Ria, I am sorry to tell you that our brain chips are not compatible to your robot. I couldn't get a brain for it. If it is a weight, you could leave it here."

"No, I'll keep it with me. I'm sure it'll come in handy." Ria pushed her plate away. "Vexer couldn't really tell me anything useful."

"That's too bad. Did you manage to get anything out of him?"

"St'lar's a heartless bastard, he's seeking out someplace called North, and I don't know where that is. He could be anywhere now." She looked down at the ground. "...Ezzy could be anywhere."

"Even though St'lar can dodge our ships, we're still going out. The Vortians are going to do everything we can to help."

"Don't waste your resources. Is everything ready?"

"Yes," Lard Nar extended his hand, which Ria joined with hers. "I wish you all the luck in the universe." He accompanied her to the ship. It was a slim, blue-gray warship with two boosters and a back up emergency third. It had shark fin wings and a rounded starshield for the cockpit. Ria let go of the Vortian's hand and climbed on top of the ship to slip inside through the starshield.

"Thank you for everything."

"We'll be right behind you."


	6. Comet Strike

Comet Strike

I am the voice of Dragons past

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

She named her ship _Silverflash, _which was funny because it wasn't silver. But she didn't care. Ria set the ship on autopilot, letting it drift slowing in space. She was sitting in the pilot's chair, her Xan robot in her lap, opening and closing the empty head. The head without a brain chip.

_What should I expect? I doubt even Irk makes a chip that'll let you act like Xan. You'll be a SIR unit, like MiMi. Or maybe GIR, I could live with that._

The golden eyed female looked up through the starshield.

_Oh Ezzy, where are you? What has he done to you? I swear I'll save you._

"Hello?" a voice crackled over her radio.

She grabbed the communicator. "What's up?"

"Hey Ria, you don't know me, but I know you."

"May I ask who you are?"

"Previously known as Prisoner 777, I am Laz, head technician of Vort and one of the main designers of the Massive."

"It's an honor."

"I and a squad are right behind you, awaiting orders and/or coordinates."

Ria leaned back in her chair, propping her feet up. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I have no leads."

"Didn't you talk with Vexer?"

"Yep, he didn't tell me much. Look to the North, but Comrade Ixane pointed out that direction in space is corrupted. North is a place...North is a place, not a direction." She felt a lump form in her throat.

"Are you okay?"

"Not really," she croaked. She wiped her teary eyes before speaking, "I think maybe you should send your squad out as scouts. Have them go to local planets, ask questions, find any information on St'lar or a Vortian ship in this quadrant."

"Affirmative, where will we be able to find you?"

Ria sighed. "I don't know..." _Maybe on Foodcourtia. Nah, I want to find Ezzy, not go on vacation. _"You'll find me orbiting Polaris." It was the first thing that came to mind. Polaris was the first thing about space she had known as a young, young smeet. The brightest star in the universe, seen from every planet. It was easy to find.

"Okay then, but be careful. My sensors show that the comets are orbiting Polaris as well, don't get hit."

"I won't. See ya."

* * *

Nothing really compared to the beauty of aurora lights, nebulas, or comets. Outer space offered such beauty, but aurora lights could be seen on Earth, and so could comets, but no one really noticed. Ria did, and now she was flying beside a comet through space.

"You wanna race? !" she called out. _I'm talking to a comet, damn I'm lonely!_

The comets were caught in an orbit of the bright star. Ria circled _Silverflash _from a safe distance, watching the orbs of flying ice with their silver tails. All was silent. A moment of perfect peace and fascination.

_I wonder if Ezzy can see to the outside? Or does St'lar have her locked up?_

The communicator started beeping. "What?"

"Ria!" the voice was so loud Ria yanked the communicator away from her head.

"Could you be any louder? !"

"Sorry." It was Zee. "But I finally managed to connect with you. Where are you and why is it so hard to connect?"

"I'm at Polaris, the comets must be interfering. Are you calling for an update?"

There were sounds of struggling before a different voice spoke. "Do you have any information?" It was Red.

"Only a riddle...I think. Do you know of a place called North?"

"A planet?"

"I'm not quite sure. A planet, a nebula, an asteroid, I don't know! But that's the only clue I have."

"Hmm, I'll look into it. Gyah!" he grunted as two voices joined his on the other end.

"Give me it!"

"I wanna talk to her!"

"Back off!" Red shouted. "I'm trying to talk with her!"

"Give me the damn radio! Your smeet isn't the one that's missing!" Zim, and his voice was muffled.

"Dib!" Red cried. "Get off my head!"

"Red?" said Ria, "are you holding the radio above your head?"

"He is!" said Dib. "I got it!"

The transmission cut right after the sound of an impact and Dib grunting loudly.

"Hello? Hello?" Ria sighed. "Great."

The communicator beeped.

"Hello?"

"Ria!" said Laz. "One of my scouts found some information. Go to Blorch, she's waiting for you."

* * *

The planet Blorch was empty of lifeforms after the organic sweep. The terrain before hadn't been anything special, but now it was almost haunting. Ria came in for a landing, blowing dust into a great cloud.

"Greetings!" the female Vortian said as she exited the ship. "I believe I have found some evidence that St'lar was here with your smeet. Follow me." She led Ria over to a small crater, not a natural crater, one formed by something large that had landed there. The Vortian bent down and picked up a small object half hidden in the dirt. "I didn't want to touch it anymore than needed until you got here. The Irken symbol's on it." It was a once white blanket, tainted by the dirt, with a small Irken insignia in the corner. "Is this familiar?"

Ria took the blanket and hugged it to her chest. "This is Ezzy's blanket. She had put it out in the play area for a bit. It was tent." Ria felt a tear trickle down her cheek. "They were here." She turned to the Vortian. "Can you do a sweep?"

"Yes, but what are you looking for?"

"I'm just making sure Ezzy isn't buried here," she said in a serious voice.

"R-right away." The Vortian pulled out a hand held device and started walking around the crater, waving the device. "Negative, there are no organisms here, dead or alive."

"Good, I thank you for this," she saluted and returned to _Silverflash. _She rubbed her face in the dirty blanket. _Ezzy, are you even alive?_

She flinched as the communicator beeped loudly. "What? !"

"We have movement of an unidentified Vortian ship!" Laz reported. "We tried hailing them but they fled. It could be St'lar!"

Ria jumped into the pilot's chair. The ship shot off into the sky. Hoping to reach the coordinates as quickly as she could, Ria steered back toward Polaris as a shortcut. _Silverflash _groaned as it was forced to fly right into the gravity, then against it.

"Come on," Ria pleaded. "Get through."

The communicator hissed. "Ria! What are you doing? ! The pull is too strong, you'll destroy your ship!"

The golden eyed Irken ignored Laz's words and only forced the ship harder. Slowly but surely, the ship pushed past the pull.

_Yes! Take that gravity!_

* * *

Apparently, when you taught the laws of science, it kicks you in the ass. Just as Ria was cheering her victory, _Silverflash _was suddenly hurled through space after coming in contact with a comet.

* * *

"Ria? !" Laz shouted into the communicator. "Ria? ! Where are you? !"

There was hissing.

The Vortian sighed sadly and began to set it down.

"...Hello?"

"Ria? Are you okay?"

"Yeah...yeah I'm fine."

"Where'd you end up?"

"I'm not quite sure, but it was a good thing it happened."

"Why?"

"What model was the ship that St'lar took?"

"Model X-5, same as the ship the Resisty used. Why?"

"Because I just found it. I found St'lar's ship."

* * *

I don't know anything about space, but i have it that Polaris can be seen anywhere in the universe. The brightest star. It'll become symbolic later on, maybe even a checkpoint.


	7. Run

Run

I am the voice of Dragons past

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

_A holographic shield...you bastard. But fortunately, even though you've learned how to dodge Vortian ships, they have the best technology. With my expertise and their technology, you'll be comet dust soon enough._

When Ria had come out of the crazy fling from the impact of the comet, her scanners had picked a space ship, but one not seen by the naked eye. With her borrowed Vortian technology, she had managed to locate the general area that the ship was. They were in a quadrant she didn't know, hovering by a gas giant with no name. But Ria could see Polaris, so she wasn't afraid.

_The star will lead me home. As long as I know where Polaris is, I can find my way back. But first, I hide._

* * *

_Silverflash _stuck to the side of the Vortian ship like a parasite. A fly on the wall. She could only hope St'lar wouldn't notice the ride-along. Ria dressed into her space suit, attaching her hover board to her back. She had a space helmet Dib had used once. Without her PAK, Ria couldn't use the air bubble.

_Here we go._

Ria opened the starshield and slipped out of her ship. She had a safety harness on because she didn't have any boosters. She scaled the side of the ship, looking around every so often for any sign that St'lar had noticed her presence. Only peaceful stars and silent space. The side of the ship didn't seem to have any opening. A maintenance hatch, an airlock, or even a wound to the hull.

_Maybe I'm on the wrong side. Will my line stretch that far?_

She started back down, hoping to cling to the belly of the ship and make her way around. She felt the line go taut once and dread filled her body, but it turned out it was wrapped around her ankle. There was an air lock hatch on this side. Since it was designed for Vortians, it wasn't that big. Thankfully_, _Ria was no bigger. And since most Irkens were thin, any height could probably slip through. Ria shut the hatch as soon as she was in. She looked around the sealed room.

_If the only handle is on the outside, I'm going to be so pissed._

She found the inside handle and yanked it open. The hissing noise of the opening door almost seemed to echo ten-fold. She peered around the edge. Empty halls. She stepped out and shut the door. After a few steps with boot-clicks on the hard floor, she pulled her boots off and stuck them in her backpack. Her hand brushed her hover board.

_Maybe this'll work better._

She mounted the board and slid her foot to the pedal at the back. She moved through the halls without a sound. The few rooms she came to seemed uselessly empty until closer inspection. There were things in the rooms. Strange machines with Irken, Vortian, and Meekrob insignias on them. Ria climbed off the board and approached the nearest machine. She ran her fingers over the Irken insignia.

_Why would he have this?  
_

It was a prototype energy absorbing generator. No others had been built. How he had managed to get this was beyond imagining.

_But why have it? This machine was a failure. What could he do?_

The sound of a door sliding shut had her diving for cover. She could hear a voice. Only one.

"It seems lonely now. Only one voice in this whole ship."

_St'lar...I hate your voice._

"It's sad really. Because of me, you didn't talk much anyway. And now, because of me, you won't talk anymore."

_Ezzy, he's talking to Ezzy. _Ria folded her hands against her chest. _Won't talk anymore?_

"Cry your silent tears, there'll be plenty more to cry. Your mommy and daddy can't come get you. Neither can Ria. She won't protect you this time. She won't throw herself in front of my tendrils to protect you again."

_You don't know me at all. You don't know what I'll do to protect my family. You don't know shit._

"They're stuck on Irk like the rest of your pathetic species. It was high time you fell from your positions and we Meekrob were going to take you down. Then _one _undersized smeet goes up against the Lady Meekrob, and it's all over. Peace reigns! Hallelujah!" He paused. "I was crushed. We are the dominant species, we could've won! Frith'gen is weak, she couldn't stop you. But I will."

Ria started to her feet. She reached up to grab the edge of the machine she had been leaning against to lift herself up. She brushed something on top of it. A metal canister fell against the floor, banging loudly.

"What-?"

She flopped on her belly on the hover board, using her knee to press the pedal. She sped down the hall, looking side to side for a place to hide from St'lar. An open door caught her eye. She rolled off the board and dove inside. It was dark inside, but she managed to duck behind a crate. A shadow passed in front of the door. It paused before continuing. It was dragging a lead of some kind, the other end connected to a small figure keeping up.

_Ezzy..._

Ria crept to the doorway, straining her antennae. She peeked out. They were gone.

_I still retain the element of surprise. _

The young Irken got to her feet and turned to whatever was inside this room. She pulled out a flashlight from her backpack. The beam caught papers and star charts, diagrams with circles and marks, canisters and metal tools. She saw a star chart of Polaris and the comets currently pulled into its gravity. In fact, there were several.

_Obsessive much?_

She turned the beam onto the other charts. Several things marking planets, an Irken storage planet and Vortian space station among them.

_Now I know where he got all this crap._

She kept turning the beam, reading along. She stopped. The light shone on a single paper stuck to the wall by a knife. Ria stepped closer.

_'It's the only thing that can stop me. I know It's real. It won't stop me.'_

Ria tilted her head_. _Four lines were scrawled underneath St'lar's words.

_'The Zenza, the Zenza, the seer of things,_

_Mightier than weapons, higher than kings._

_The Zenza, the Zenza, to the edge, my friend,_

_For the watcher of all will find balance again.'_

Ria let the flashlight drop lower, taking the beam off the note. She turned it off, leaving herself in the darkness.

_What's a Zenza? It sounds like a ship name._

"Hello?"

She spun around. St'lar's voice echoed down the halls.

"Lonely," he said more to himself.

_It is lonely in your own little world, isn't it?_

She shrank back into the shadows. The shadow of a Meekrob missing half his hood appeared in the doorway again. After a moment of contemplation, he continued on. She saw the lead again, the end attached to Ezzy. Ria gripped her flashlight. It was a heavy duty light with a long handle for beating creeps in the head.

_This'll work just fine_.

She rushed for the door. St'lar and Ezzy had their backs to her. The gold eyed Irken prepared to leap forward, but stopped. St'lar had the handle of the lead in his tendril. The handle had a switch.

_A shock collar. You are so gonna die._

She gripped the flashlight.

_But not now. Not when you hold Ezzy's life by a switch of electricity levels._

She turned and made her way back to the air lock.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Zim said over the communicator.

"I'm fine. You'll be happy to know, I've found them."

"Really? That's wonderful!"

"Bad news is, St'lar's serious about killing her. He's got a shock collar on her, ready to turn it up full blast and stop her heart and PAK. Everyone still staying put?"

"They're fuming, but yes. How is she?"

"I didn't get a good look. Zim, he's got Irken equipment."

"What? !" Zim grunted as the communicator was ripped from his hand.

"Ria? Repeat that!"

"You heard me, Red, Irken equipment."

"Where did he get it?"

"He's got charts with a storage planet on one, it's a safe bet he got it there."

"But those are guarded!" Yule's voice crackled in the background.

"He's got an energy absorbing generator. You know...that thing our race made only one of?"

"That thing's a failure," said Red.

"He must see something in it to steal it."

"No, that's the thing. That thing's a failure. We got rid of it a long time ago."

"What'd you do?"

"We chucked it out in space."

"Red!" Ria pinched the skin between her eyes. "Okay, then that means he's got stuff worth something from the storage planet. He's also got Vortian and Meekrob stuff. He's planning something big."

"Ria, I beg of you, just rescue Ezzy," said Zim. "Once she's safe, we'll send out everyone. They'll hunt him down."

"That's why I'm out here. I'll get her back, I'll bring her home. Ria...signing out."

"Goodbye," they all said.


	8. A Great Escape

A Great Escape

I am the voice of Dragons past

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

After safely snagging a bug on St'lar's ship, Ria had been going back and forth between the Vortian squad ships and the big ship itself for days. She didn't like prolonging Ezzy's rescue, but she knew St'lar had to be taken as soon as his living shield was removed. That's what the Vortians were for. Once the rescue was done, they would move in, and she would leave with the smeet. How this was going to happen was a bit more challenging. As a major favor, Ixane flew the Resisty ship out to the safe point. Ria spent days without sleep checking every room, hall, and hatch of it. Since St'lar's ship was the same model, she soon began to compile a mental map.

"It's not healthy to live this way," Ixane said after she found Ria passed out in a hall.

"You don't know squat," the golden eyed female mumbled.

"I'll forget you said that," the alien grabbed Ria by the back of her one piece suit. "If you really want to rescue Ezzy, you need plenty of sleep."

"I'll sleep when I'm dead!"

"And at the rate you're going, that won't be long."

* * *

Laz sighed. "I'm sorry, Tallest Zim, but Ria can't talk right now."

"Why not? !" Because this was a screen chat, Laz could see the Irken's anger.

"She's exhausting herself with learning the set up of St'lar's ship so that the rescue will go as planned."

"Tell her it's urgent!"

"Zim!" Dib's voice called from out of Laz's view. "The Irkens are converging! They're heading for their ships!"

"On it!" Yule rushed by in the background, a bunch of uniformed guards following. "Hired Hands Guards, stop those Irkens!"

"Yes ma'am!"

Laz was almost horrified. "They're trying to leave the planent?"

"Yes! We've resorted to using force. Ship bays and docks are under siege."

"Irk is falling apart," Laz whispered. "I'm sorry, Zim, but I need to sign off."

* * *

"They're really rioting?" Ria supported her head in her hands. "I've spent too long out here. We need to start the rescue."

"I didn't realize the Irkens would band together to save a smeet," said Ixane.

"It's not just to save Ezzy. Sure, now that Irkens can have their own young again, we've become very protective, but this is something more. St'lar waltzed right onto our planet and made off with one of our own. They're enraged because he managed to do it. They just want to kick his ass...or whatever he has. It's a huge insult to us. And I guess the fact that it's the Tallest's smeet isn't helping our cause in keeping the Irkens in place."

"We need to engage," Ixane turned to Laz. "Send word to the other ships, comrade."

Ria stood at the bridge of the Resisty's ship, looking out the starshield and deep into space. Her hands clenched tightly, driving her claws into her palms. A trickle of blood dripped to the floor. Ixane spooked and began gesturing wildly, trying to get Ria's attention, but the young Irken was in too deep of thought.

* * *

"Testing...can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear." Ria adjusted her helmet. "Once I'm aboard, I'll be abandoning the helmet in the air lock."

She heard Laz take in a breath between clenched teeth. "...Okay, but be careful."

"Affirmative." Ria opened the air lock and slipped inside. She sealed the hatch before removing her helmet and listening against the door. Nothing. She pulled out a smaller helmet and set it beside her own. She opened the door to a small crack. The halls were eerily empty and quiet. She drew up her mental map.

_Most likely holding her in the cells within the inner shell. They're closer to the bridge._

She climbed on her hover board. At cruising speed, Ria surveyed the halls and storage rooms. The sound of a machine backfiring forced her to tumbled into a small ball, the hover board continuing until it bounced against a wall and rested. Ria slid on her belly and inched around a corner. St'lar was handling the controls of a hover trolley. He was currently moving some of the crates.

_There's only half of them. That can only mean he's moved the others already. _

Whether he was putting his plan to action or not, this only meant one thing. He was busy.

_I can get Ezzy and then get out of here without him noticing. Then the ships will move in._

The Meekrob played with the controls until the trolley lifted the crate. "Stupid thing," he muttered.

_You shouldn't talk about yourself like that._

He directed the trolley down a different hall. Ria made her move. Quickly scooping up her hover board, she dashed in the direction of the bridge.

_A half-circle hall around the bridge, branching halls from that, far left facing the starshield leads to the stockades, _she recited to herself. The sounds of her boots tapping on the floor seemed to echo ten-fold. Ria dug her claws into the wall and swung around the corner.

_Shit!_

Her feet slipped from underneath her, sending the female crashing down. Holding the board above her head, Ria pulled the pedal all the way down. The hover board dragged her back around the corner.

_St'lar! I didn't think he'd be this close!_

"Who's there?"

When she had swung the corner, her great enemy had been right at the other end of the hall. And her crashing didn't help her original sneakiness. He knew she was there.

_He's storing everything in the barracks! Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn!_

"I know you're there!" His shadow was stretching.

_He's coming._

In a desperate act, Ria threw herself against the opposite corner, launched feet first off the wall, and flew past the Meekrob. Without looking back, she sped past the trolley and into the barracks. Most of the cells were filled with the crates and pieces of machinery she had seen before. But one cell was mostly empty. Except for a little smeet.

"Ezzy!" Ria flung herself against the transparent glass. The smeet nearly leapt out of her skin, but the look of terror was immediately replaced with so much hope. "I'm getting you out!" Ria picked up a metal rod from one of the cells and began slamming into against the glass. After a few decent whacks, it shattered.

Ezzy held up her arms to Ria. The smeet looked desperate about something.

"Don't worry, Ezzy!" Ria scooped her up. "I'm taking you home!" She turned toward the doorway. "Aw fu-"

St'lar whipped his few tendrils around in hatred. "How did you get here?" his voice was venomous.

"That's for me to know, and you to get my boot shoved up your ass!" _Nice comeback. He doesn't even have one...I think._

"I know your mind, you won't kill me."

"But I can maim! My conscience will allow that!" She hugged Ezzy to her chest. "You'll pay for what you've done."

St'lar advanced forward. "How the hell did you get off your planet? !"

Ria turned one shoulder to him. "I can survive without my PAK." She turned back. "You don't know everything about Irkens. Especially not Auto-Defects. I'm one in a million."

"About to be one less," he drew closer.

Grabbing the rod once more, Ria smashed it against the Meekrob's head. With the enemy down for a moment, she rushed through the doorway and began a race back to the air lock. Something hit the back of her head, sending her sprawling. Desperate to keep her sister safe, Ria swiped her hover board, which was still in the hall, and put Ezzy on.

"Don't be scared," she reassured the smeet before setting her on the pedal. The board cruised off, leaving Ria to face her foe.

"You should have stayed on your planet," he spat.

"You should've stayed on Vort. You did your crimes against the Alliance, you were paying for them."

"The Alliance will fall and I will rise as the new lord of the universe. I know where to collect my power. You can't stop me."

"I know I can't... but others can. I can't do it alone." Ria pulled her sleeve back to reveal a watch-like object. "Squads...advance!" She darted after Ezzy down the hall. The entire ship suddenly rocked violently.

"What did you do? !" St'lar's voice echoed from where he still floated.

Ria reached the board with ease. She grabbed Ezzy and climbed on, pushing the pedal all the way down. "We don't have much time," she explained to Ezzy, "within a few moments, the rest of the squads will show up and full-on attack this ship. We have to leave before they do."

They reached the air lock and slipped inside. The ship rocked even more, throwing the two females off their feet. Ria slipped on her helmet and put the smaller one on Ezzy.

"Here we go!" she opened the hatch and leapt out. With her free hand, she clutched the safety line.

"Ria!" Laz's voice blared inside her helmet. "Are you off the ship?"

"Yes, but I have to get on my own first!" St'lar's ship rumbled deeply. "Laz! He's starting up his boosters!"

"Hurry so we can attack!"

Ria kicked open the starshield of _Silverflash. _She set Ezzy down before pulling it back and climbing into her chair. The safety line trailed behind them, but it didn't matter to her at the moment. "Laz, we're off!"

The other squad ships seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Soon the larger ship was completely surrounded.

"Get out of that one, you bastard!" Ria called out to the ship.

* * *

_Silverflash _wasn't very big, but it did have a bunk. With the ship on autopilot, Ria did a check over of her rescue.

"I know it was frightening, Ezzy, but you don't have to be scared anymore."

The smeet's eyes began tearing up.

"Don't cry! I'll do a quick stop at Foodcourtia and get you a treat. Would you like that?"

She didn't answer, not even a head movement. She tugged at her collar.

Ria raised her antennae and gently undid the smeet's uniform. She felt her arms go limp in horror. A vicious scar ran from Ezzy's neck to halfway down her chest.

"What did he do?" she murmured. She retrieved her communicator. "Laz!"

"Yes?"

"I need a medic on my ship. Now!"

* * *

The Vortian medic checked Ezzy over several times. "From what I can see, St'lar did a little surgery on her."

"What did he do?" Ria was pressing her claws into her palms again.

"He cut the vocal producers in her upper squeedly spooch."

"You mean-?"

"I'm afraid so. He took her ability to speak."

_He... _Ria felt her knees go weak. "Thank you. You may leave." She sank into her pilot's chair. "Zim, Tak...I failed you. He hurt her, he hurt her badly." Tears streamed down her cheeks. _How can I ever face them again?_

After drawing in a deep breath, she picked up Ezzy's blanket and covered the smeet. "You take a quick nap, okay? We'll be home in no time."


	9. A Legend Retold

A Legend Retold

I am the voice of Dragons past

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

_Silverflash _was being strained horribly. After the message of Ezzy's rescue had patched through, every able-bodied Irken had jumped to their ships and left the planet. Currently, Ria was dodging hundreds and hundreds of ships that swarmed into the direction she'd come from. No one seemed to pay her any heed, and she didn't mind. They were going to assist the squads in dealing with St'lar. Let them vent their rage, she had a job to finish.

"We're almost home," she told Ezzy.

The little smeet was hugging her blanket tightly and was slurping on a soda from their quick stop in Foodcourtia. She seemed okay with being silent, but Ria wasn't. Despite the smeet's uniform being zipped again, Ria could still see the scar burning through the fabric.

Ezzy's eyes grew wide and she began gesturing wildly at the planet they were approaching.

"That's right. You'll be safe, then I plot."

* * *

The docks that _Silverflash _flew over were completely empty. Even courtyards, gardens, parks, and the artificial lake were bare of Irkens. However, the grounds where the Massive was docked had a few well-known Irkens waiting. Standing together at the bottom of the ramp, Alpha group and friends eagerly awaited the oncoming ship. _Silverflash _landed before them.

"Welcome home!" Zee and Tenn both cheered.

Ria pushed up the starshield and climbed out, Ezzy clinging to her neck. Once the gold eyed female touched ground, she was swamped. Tak almost ripped the smeet from her arms. The amethyst female was sobbing loudly and clutched her daughter, afraid to let go. Zim curled his arms around his mate and daughter.

"Thank you so much," Tak whimpered. "Ria, I can never repay you."

Red approached Ria and put a hand on her shoulder. "Good job. You've done well."

"You're a hero!" Piper and Lexe were gleefully waving little flags.

But Ria shook her head and pushed Red's hand away. "No...no I'm not. Your praise and love will fade."

Zim was horrified. "What are you talking about?"

"Undo the top of Ezzy's uniform." She bit her lip.

Zim undid Ezzy's outfit. His arms went limp and he backed away. "What..."

No one spoke a word, the silence greatly confusing the smeets. Ria held Ezzy's empty soda can, the only piece of trash from the ship. Her fingers clenched it tightly, squeezing it until it was thoroughly crushed.

"So?"

Ria looked up, completely shocked.

Tak was coddling Ezzy lovingly. "Who cares? I don't care if she can't speak, I'll love her twice as much." With her free hand, Tak lifted Ria's chin. "You did what no one else could, you brought her back. I am forever in your debt." She straightened back up and looked around at the others. "What's with the sad faces? This is a time to celebrate! Ezzy's home and St'lar is being taken care of."

Zim smiled. "Yeah, a majority of the planet's out there with the squads. Let's be happy!"

The tension faded and everyone relaxed. Looks of horror and fear melted to contentment. Tak released Ezzy, allowing her to walk among her nursery mates.

"Mommy!" Piper shot past and clung to Tenn's leg. "Don't let Auntie Yule eat me!"

Tenn scooped her up. "What are you talking about? Yule's not going to eat you."

The smeet pointed an accusing finger at the confused red eyed female. "She said there was a smeet inside her! She said so!"

The silence lasted only a moment before Yule and Purple were swarmed.

"Is it true?" asked Red.

Yule nodded. "Yes, we learned a few days ago, but we wanted to wait until a happier moment to tell all of you. I guess _we _didn't get to tell you."

"Congratulations!"

"That's so wonderful!"

A loud beeping noise interrupted the happy cheers. Ria climbed into _Silverflash _and opened the video chat. The others crowded to see and hear the message.

Laz was on the screen, a disturbing look of grief on his face. "I'm glad you made it home with Ezzy."

"You sure don't sound like it."

"I...I'm sorry to inform you...but St'lar...has escaped."

Ria slammed her fist on the control panel. "What? ! How? !"

"We don't know! The squads disengaged his boosters and surrounded him. But he somehow reactivated them in their state. When the Irkens arrived in swarms, we were sure he had no choice but to surrender. He...he jumped into hyper drive and blew them away in a shock wave. He's gone..."

Ria was almost hyperventilating.

"I'm...I'm so sorry. Laz...signing off." The screen went blank.

Ria leapt out of the ship and ran up the ramp to the Massive. _Everything he's done and he's still at large! Why? Why won't he suffer?_

* * *

Red found her in the cafeteria, racking up the balls on the pool table. "You could've acted with more maturity."

She glowered at him.

"He got away, but we have the entire Empire out their looking for him. He won't stay in the shadows long."

Ria grabbed one of the sticks.

"Do you want an opponent?"

"Sure."

Red took his choice from the sticks. Ria stood on a stool to line up her shot. "How about Yule and Purple's happy news?"

"They deserve happiness and a smeet will bring it," she replied.

"They both really want this smeet."

"You ever thought about taking a mate?" She took her shot, but it missed.

Red chuckled. "I don't think that's the life for me." He lined up his shot and scored.

"Why not? You're still young, in the prime of your life. What's keeping you?"

He shrugged. "People often joke that if you were a bit older and I a bit younger, we'd make perfect mates."

Ria gave it some thought. _I see...and I agree. If that were true, our ages, I think I'd be happy with Red as a mate. _"The people have been thinking hard. I hope our alternate selves are happy."

He laughed at this. "I was afraid you would be disturbed." He lined up for his second shot. "Hmm... an alternate universe. Sounds like a job for the Zenza." His shot missed.

Ria didn't take her shot. Her stick dropped from her hand and clattered on the floor. She jumped up on the pool table, moving some of the balls out of her way.

"Ria, what's wro-?"

"The Zenza!"

"Wh-what about it?"

"What is it?"

He held up his hands to defend himself if needed. "It's just an old fairytale-"

"No, it's not! St'lar had some notes about it. I saw it! What is the Zenza?"

"It won't help. I don't believe in it, it sounds too far-fetched."

"Please Red," Ria put her hands on his and pleaded, "you _must _tell me!"

He took in a few calming breaths. "Will it really benefit you?"

"Yes."

"Okay," he pulled his hands away, "let me think. It was song that I heard when I was little. It's just a smeet's tale, for entertainment purposes. I...I remember the chorus line."

"You can't recall anything else?"

"No...but..."

"What is it?"

"You could always..." he gulped," "PAK-hack me."

Ria's shoulders sagged. "Oh Red." The act of PAK-hacking was traumatizing. When one PAK-hacked, they were digging into another Irken's brain and memories, their most treasured things. It left the hacked Irken feeling violated. "Do you really think it's the only way?"

"If you feel that the information will help you in any way, then do it."

He turned his back to her. After a few shaky breaths, she opened the PAK and began digging in the wires. All the while, Red whimpered and groaned as she tapped into his memories. His entire body shuddered suddenly. "You did it, I remember!"

"Okay," she closed his PAK. "Recite it."

"I knew of a creature, this is true

Its skin pure black and its tongue dark blue.

Its whiskers to place a blessing or curse

Its four eyes watch the universe.

The deepest dark is its only friend

Stretching forever, there is now end.

Treading the darkness and all it will do

Only a single light shines through."

"The Zenza, the Zenza, the seer of things

Mightier than weapons, higher than kings.

The Zenza, the Zenza, to the edge, my friend

For the watcher of all will find balance again."

"The view of a million places it sees

Mountains and valleys, creatures and trees.

Though no one knows, it walks in a line

Not leaving a trail of footprints behind.

It knows not 'he', it knows not 'she'

It knows not 'you', it knows not 'we'

It knows not 'them', it knows not 'who'

Only a single light shines through."

"The Zenza, the Zenza, the seer of things

Mightier than weapons, higher than kings.

The Zenza, the Zenza, to the edge, my friend

For the watcher of all will find balance again."

"You seek the Zenza? Listen well

Or else you'll hear your death toll knell.

From the starway river from which we dredge

Step off the stream and onto the edge.

No stars, no planets, nothing be found

There is no sight, there is not sound.

Let not the darkness result in fright

For shining through is a single light."

"The Zenza, the Zenza, the seer of things

Mightier than weapons, higher than kings.

The Zenza, the Zenza, to the edge, my friend

For the watcher of all will find balance again."

"No sunlight, no wind, no moonlight, no snow

What is this place? A place we don't know.

There is one being who doth dwell here

The Zenza, the giant, but do not fear.

It will find you and guide you away

To where, I'm afraid, I cannot say.

But should you return to the edge that you knew

Follow the single light that shines through."

"The Zenza, the Zenza, watch as we go

Restore all we hope, all we dream, all we know.

The Zenza, the Zenza, release from your keep

The balance restored and the Zenza will Sleep."

Ria crossed her arms over her chest. "Wow. All of that?"

"Hmm," Red narrowed his eyes, "data shows that 'Sleep' is capitalized."

"A certain kind of sleep?"

"Maybe. Well, that's it. What do you think?"

"I'm not sure. It's confusing. You heard that as a smeet?"

"Our caretakers were at their wits' end, they had to entertain us somehow. Wanna break it down? It's a giant creature, larger than any building or ship alive, that resides in the darkness of the edge."

"St'lar's note said that the Zenza was the only thing that could stop him-"

"So there's a chance it might be real. A creature bigger than the Massive...thank Irk it doesn't live in the actual universe!"

Ria jumped off the table. "Red, I'm going to find it. I'm taking my ship and going to the edge of the universe."

He stopped her with his arm. "There's still a major chance that it's not real. Then what'll you do?"

"I have to try," she pushed away his arm. "To protect everyone, I will try."

"Okay, are you leaving now?"

"I'm not wasting any time."

"Wait! I'll get your PAK. You can take it with you now."

_That's right. Do I even want it? _But he was already gone. _I guess I'll take it along. It won't do anyone any harm to take it. St'lar, if your note is true, then I'll get there before you! I'll find the Zenza, and we'll destroy you!_

* * *

i like that poem, i do. :3


	10. To The Edge

To The Edge

I am the voice of Dragons past

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

The Massive was in current semi-lockdown mode. The smeets had been returned to the nursery, unwillingly, and two Hired Hand Guards stationed outside the door. Each received specific orders to not let anyone by, unless it was one of the smeets' parents, and even then, they had to prove they were who they were. Gaz was walking around the halls, a high powered pistol hanging loosely in her hand. Everyone else held weapons hidden in their clothing, eyes darting suspiciously to any object moving in the shadows.

_It's not good having everyone be this jumpy. _Ria had never experienced this amount of silence in the Massive. Her boots clicked loudly on the floor. _I feel like I'm being watched in whatever move I make. _This was proved as a drone put down a stack of boxes to watch her walk past. Ria ventured throughout the Massive. Tension sparked in the air, everyone was frightened. _Though the chances of St'lar coming here aren't very high. He's knows he's lost this battle._

"Ria," Red called softly. "Zim and Tak are talking with Miyuki via communicator at the bridge, so I managed to sneak your PAK without them noticing." He fit it to her back for her. "Are you sure you want to do this? They'll be pissed and devastated once they realize you've run away."

"I'm not running away!" she argued in a hushed whisper. "I'm finding our salvation!"

"It-might-not-exist!" he bared his teeth as he said this, his frustration showing through. "I...I just don't want you to go chasing comets only to find a black hole at the end. This is dangerous stuff. The edge of the universe is a dark, desolate place. There's nothing beyond. We've sent probes before, none have ever come back."

"I'll be okay. Don't worry about me."

He scratched his head. "It's hard not to. Are you sure you don't want to tell the others?"

Ria hung her head. "They'll only try to stop me. Don't tell them anything unless they ask where I am. Hopefully, by then, I'll be long gone and they won't pursue." She started down the hall. "Walk with me. While I'm out there, I'll have open communications. As long as they don't keep constantly calling, I'll be open for conversation. That way they can keep their fear levels low. I'll send reports of my situation."

"Here," he passed her a piece of paper, "I wrote down the song for you. Hopefully it'll help."

"Thank you." They stopped. The closed door leading to the ramp was currently shut. The gateway to adventure. "Here is where we part."

"Good luck."

"Thanks." Ria tucked the paper into her pocket and approached the door. She opened it only a crack and slipped through. _Here it started... _She raced down the ramp, her boots pounding on the surface. She leapt into _Silverflash _and started the engine. _Here it dawned ... _With one last look at the Massive, the small ship jumped into the sky.

_Here it begins..._

* * *

The space around Irk was deserted now. Every ship she had had to dodge before was in deep space, hunting St'lar with blood thirst on the mind. It was hard to not join in.

"Okay," Ria chewed on a Lik-Stik as she reviewed the song. "Apparently the Zenza can see me since it watches the universe. Maybe I'll get a hero's welcome." her eyes scanned the next couple of lines. She pulled the Stik from her mouth. " 'It knows not 'he', it knows not 'she'... hmmm." _What could that mean? It doesn't recognize genders? No...the next lines say it doesn't recognize 'you', 'we', 'them', and 'who'. Does this creature distinguish anything? Maybe that's the point._

_Silverflash _flew past a nebula. Ria looked out the starshield to see the beautiful stars that emanated light. _And another thing...every verse ends with something about some light. What light shines through pure darkness? _She yelped loudly and turned the ship as it almost came in contact with a wandering asteroid. As she did so, Ria heard a loud clanging noise. Once in a safe zone, she investigated. It was her Xan robot, which she had placed on a shelf after Ezzy had needed the bunk.

"I didn't get a brain for you," she realized. "Damn it!" _Now what? Do I go back? No! They might catch me and keep me on Irk. _Frustrated, she tossed the empty husk onto the bunk. "Someday," she sighed.

She returned to her pilot's chair. After a few moments' thought, she set the ship on auto pilot and leaned back, propping her feet on the control panel. _Just a little sleep, it'll do me good._

* * *

The sound of the communicator beeping was magnified, at least that's what it seemed to Ria. Jerked out of a peaceful and well needed rest, she floundered around and slammed her fist on the panel for a chat screen.

"How dare you!" Zim shouted.

Ria crossed her arms and leaned back again. "How dare I? I'm doing you all the biggest favor. I will find the Zenza and save everyone."

"Ria, that's a smeet's tale! It doesn't exist! Come home now!"

She shook her head. "I can't do that. A slim chance, yes, but this may be the key. I have reason to believe that the Zenza is real."

"Ria," he sounded like he was out of breath, "there is nothing out there. It's a dark loneliness." She saw him rest his body on his elbows against the control panel. "Come home."

"No," she said firmly.

His magenta eyes flared. "You dare disobey your Tallest? !"

"Red and Purple are taller than you!" _Okay, that was taking it a little too far._

His shoulders trembled in rage. "How dare you! I swear I'll personally fly out there and break your ankles!"

"Bite me!"

"I don't eat puke, I toss it!"

"You son of a-" she cut the screen feed, but forgot about the radio. She turned her back to the panel.

"I dare you to finish that curse!"

"FUCK OFF!" She wrenched the communicator out of its holster. "I don't care about your threats! I don't care if you don't let me come back! I DON'T CARE!" She cut the radio feed. After a few minutes of heavy breathing, she realized what she'd just done. "Oh no..." The golden eyed female fumbled with the radio. "Zim! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please forgive me, I didn't mean it! I'm sorry about everything! I'm sorry about insulting you. Yule, I'm sorry about eating all the cookies. Tak, I'm sorry about spilling soda on you when you were taking a nap. Zee, I'm sorry about not telling you your robe had split in the back. Purple, I'm sorry about starting a fire with the flour and trying to put it out with baking soda instead of water and smothering it. I'm..." she bent backwards, bending her spine over the back of the chair, her head and arm hanging limp, her other hand still holding the communicator, "...I'm sorry."

"...Ria..."

She shot back up, realizing her fogging sight was due to her freshly shed tears. "Zim?"

"I forgive you. I'm sorry too. Come home to your family."

Ria wiped her eyes but new tears replaced the wiped away ones. "I can't...St'lar believes in the Zenza. That's my chance of it being real. He's too much for the Empire and the Alliance, I have to go to the highest power in the universe."

"Alone?"

"I was alone to begin with and I survived." She cracked a smile through her weeping. "And besides, the whole Empire's out here, scouring the stars. I can just call for help if I need it. And this line will always be open for all of you. I'm never alone."

There was a long pause. "...Okay, I wish you luck. Hang on, Red wants to talk."

"Ria? That was some argument."

"It scared me," she sniffled.

"You're in luck, at least the others won't pursue."

"Yeah..."

"...Tak almost ripped off my remaining antenna when she found out."

Ria giggled. "Sorry you had to go through so much."

"It's still there," she was sure that if the screen was still up, he'd be painfully smiling right now, "it hurts though. And she wrenched my shoulder. Exel and Tenn popped it back in, it's feeling fine now. I want you to be careful and take care of yourself."

"I will."

"You better!" Tak's voice came over the radio. "I am furious right now!"

"Now Tak..." Zim tried to reason with her.

"Quiet! Ria, I swear to Irk, if you don't come home alive, I'll hunt you down in the afterlife!"

"I wouldn't want that," she mumbled. "I promise. Either I come back flying this ship, or come back with it as my coffin."

"I prefer the first one."

"I do too. Ria, signing off."

"Tak, Zim, and Red, signing off."

* * *

"Attention Irken ships," Zim's voice rang out in every Irken communicator, "Ria is on a mission. If she requests your help, aide her in any way possible. That child was our salvation, and now she'll save us once more. Let us pray for her safety."

After relaying the message to non-Irken comrades, every alien bowed their heads for the safe journey of Ria the Auto-Defect.

* * *

"On a mission are you, you little brat? We'll see how far you get."

* * *

when Ria's apologizing, it's supposed to be like she's getting everything bad she's done off her chest. She's confessing, how about that? im not really proud on how it turned out, just sounds like she's ranting.

while i was writing this, the idea and picture of all the aliens of the Alliance bowing their heads in prayer popped in my head, so i added it in. I really like it. Just the thought, ya know?


	11. AbductedAgain

Abducted...Again

I am the voice of Dragons past

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

It wasn't the rattling or groaning of _Silverflash _that jerked her out of a sound sleep. It was the loud bang of the Xan robot falling to the floor. Ria's whole body flinched at the noise. She raised her head, looking around at the shaking walls. She felt a wet sensation on her body. Was it? Yep, she had been drooling. Wiping away the spit from her sleeve, Ria sat all the way up and stretched out her arms.

"What's happening?" she murmured sleepily.

She had set the ship on autopilot before falling asleep. _Silverflash _wasn't going forward, but it was trying. That was the groaning, something was keeping it from continuing. Ria pressed a button on the panel to open a skylight.

"What the hell?"

She was in a tractor beam being steadily pulled towards a... giant, floating beaver.

"A beaver? Is this for real?"

* * *

But it became clear once she was inside. The beaver was a foolishly disguised ship. A very, very, big ship at that. Just from what she could see from inside her own ship from where it rested, there were rows and columns of millions of glass containment tubes. All empty. Ria pushed up the starshield and climbed out.

"Welcome to our ship, space wombat," said a deep voice.

"I'm an Irken," she looked around for the owner of the voice. "I don't even think space wombats exist."

"Silence! Do not resist! We have brought you here for experimentation."

"Well...can you let me go? I have a mission to do."

"Okay!" said a high pitched voice.

"No!" said the deep voice. "You will never escape, there is no hope."

Ria pointed her thumb behind her. "My ship's right there. I could just climb in and leave."

"Oh...I guess you could."

"Where are you?"

Two tall and lean aliens, one with blue eyes, the other with green, stepped into her view. Blue-eyes was sucking on a juice box, Green-eyes was holding a roll of tape.

"I've never seen your species before," said Ria.

"Silence!" said Blue-eyes. "You are our prisoner." He turned to Green-eyes, "What should we fuse him with first?"

"I'm a female," she stated.

"Fuse him with the juice!" said Green-eyes.

"Look!" Blue-eyes shouted, "I'm tired of you always wanting to fuse the prisoners with my juice! That's what gives them strength to escape!"

"Nu-uh!"

"Ya-huh!"

"You have other prisoners?" Ria asked. The two aliens ignored her, continuing to argue about the juice. "I'm just...gonna go over here." She slipped away through a nearby door.

"Oh, now look! You let him get away!"

"You can't expect me to keep watch on the prisoners!"

"You're a watchman!"

* * *

The ship was enormous, not as big as the Massive, but still fairly large. The place was filled with glass tubes, all of them empty.

"I guess the other prisoners really did escape," Ria said to herself. "Yo!" she shouted loudly, listening to it echo at least ten times.

"Hello?" called a meek voice. "Is anyone there?"

"Keep calling! I'll find you!" Ria slid down the ladder and began following the sound. After running up and down countless aisles, she came to one that had a single resident. A blob with a bunch of miscellaneous objects stuck to his head. "Hello?"

He turned to her. "Oh, hello."

"What did they do to you?"

"They kept combining me with any object they could find. I've been stuck here for years."

"Have they actually...hurt you?"

"Not really. I'm more worried about the other."

"What other?"

"The other prisoner. He's not doing so well, I think he's sick. Look," the blob pointed up at a moving canister, "here he comes now."

The glass canister came to rest beside the blob's. Ria peered in at the curled up body inside. Her breath caught in her throat. Despite the skinniness, the patched and ragged fur from tape being ripped off, and the listless eyes, there was no mistaking it. She rushed up to the tube, putting her hands up against it. The occupant looked up at her and rose to his hind feet, putting his paws against the glass like hers.

"It's you, it's really you...Xan."

* * *

The two aliens were still arguing over the juice at the bridge.

"You got more, so why can't we-?"

"Wait!" said Blue-eyes. He began sniffing himself.

"What is it?" asked Green-eyes.

"I don't know!"

"Use the juice!"

"Knock it off!"

* * *

Ria pried the doors of the two glass tubes open. As soon as he was free, Xan threw himself at her and they enveloped each other in an embrace.

"I can't believe it's you," Ria stroked his fur and soaked it at the same time with her tears. "You're alive. I didn't think you'd survive the black hole bomb."

He whimpered and let out a gurgling sound.

"I think he's badly ill," said the blob. "He hasn't been eating and he's been vomiting a lot."

Ria pulled out a small device from her PAK. She had Xan lay on his back and began to scan his stomach. "His body is shutting down. His muscle tissues are depleted from his lack of nutrition. He doesn't have long." Despite Ria being bigger now, Xan was still large. She barely managed to hold and carry him. "Come on," she said to the blob, "I have a ship. We can get out of here."

"Thank you," the blob whimpered.

"It's nothing. I owe you for watching over Xan for me."

"So, you know him?" the blob asked as they began returning to the bridge.

"He was my companion on Earth. My species has a giant ship known as the Massive, the first time we were on board of it, I lost Xan. By the means of a black hole bomb. But," she playfully tickled her pet's chin, "I thought it killed him."

"Black hole bombs transport, not kill."

A dark shape dropped from the ceiling and right in their path, forcing them to stop. Three other shapes descended with the first. Ria's eyes scanned for anything she could use as a weapon.

"Don't even think about it," one of the figures growled.

"Hey!" said another. "You're Irken!" The owner of this voice stepped forward revealing a slim female Irken. "I'm Weyern, a Hired Hand Guard." The others stepped forward as well, all were Irkens. "These are my squad-mates, Hetch, Wirt, and Quarn."

"And you had three other members, didn't you?" said Ria, recognizing each of them.

"Gele, Jep, and Yule," stated one of the males, Hetch.

"Gele is dead. Jep and Yule are alive and well."

The four Irkens placed their hands on their chests in respect for Gele. "Where are the other two?" Quarn asked.

"Jep is leader of the Hired Hand Guards now, and Yule is mate to former Tallest Purple."

"What? !" they all shouted.

"You heard me. Your old commander, Sarge, is dead for treason, assault, and another crime I don't like mentioning. Jep took his place. Yule became the personal pilot for the former Tallest, Red and Purple. But now they're retired and she's Purple's mate. They're expecting a smeet."

"But that's impossible!" Hetch gripped his antennae. "Former Tallest? Sarge dead? Smeet? !"

"You've missed a lot. Look, there's no time to explain now. We need to go. I'll get you back to Irk." The yelling and whining of the two aliens became louder and louder the closer they got. "I forgot, what are we gonna do about them?"

The blob shrugged his little arms. "I don't think they'll notice us, and even if they do-"

"I'll beat the crap out of them." Ria kicked against the door. The group entered the bridge, going unnoticed for the most part. "Get in," she whispered to the blob. He managed to climb inside _Silverflash, _turning to take Xan as he was handed through. The Irkens slipped inside as well, squeezing in by the bunk in the small space.

"Hey!" said Blue-eyes, "They're all escaping now!" The two began to approach.

Ria gritted her teeth and jumped inside. But instead of taking off, she began resetting the controls. "I need you to listen," she said to the blob, "I'm setting the autopilot to take you to planet Irk. It'll land you right in front of the Massive. Look for one of three very tall Irkens and have them take you to the hospital. You'll find help for Xan there."

"What do you want me to tell them?"

"Tell them... 'Ria's okay and wishes she could see them.' Just get help for Xan, okay?"

"What are you gonna do?"

"Continue my mission." Once the coordinates were set, the golden eyed Irken climbed back out and slammed down the starshield. The ship lifted up and flew through the air lock. Ria dodged the two foolish aliens, who barely made an effort, and started off through a random door. _Escape pods, escape pods, where are they?_

She began opening random doors, hoping to find her new escape route. The steps of the aliens were always behind her, but they didn't seem menacing. It sounded like they were shuffling along. Did they even care? She threw her fist against the door opener, successfully locating the escape pods. One was missing already, and the one she chose had an open lock hanging from it, so she figured some other prisoner had easily escaped before.

_But who would be heartless enough to leave the blob behind?_

"He's getting away!" said Green-eyes.

They were standing in the doorway to the small room. Ria grabbed the handle of the escape pod. "I'm a girl!" she shouted before slamming the door shut. The pod dropped from the ship like a rock, but soon the zero gravity caught it. Ria strapped herself down in the chair and began programming the controls. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw _Silverflash _disappear.

_We'll meet again, Xan. Wait for me._

The pod turned direction and started off through the stars and didn't know how far it was to the edge of the universe, so the only answer was to keep going. It all had to end eventually.

_Just keep going. I believe in the Zenza, I believe I can find it. We'll be saved._

* * *

The no gravity ended just like that. No warning or anything. The pod just simply passed into complete darkness, then dropped flat. There appeared to be some kind of floor because it landed. But the fear of departing from her vehicle kept Ria in place. No matter how hard she strained her eyes, she couldn't see a thing. It was a brick wall of blackness.

_'No stars, no planets, nothing be found. There is no sight, there is no sound.' Whoever wrote that wasn't kidding._

After careful contemplation and reassurance of herself, Ria slipped on her helmet and opened the starshield. She could clearly see the pod in the darkness, even though no light shone upon it. She could see her own hand in front of her face. Curious, she stepped away from the pod and looked at her hand again. She could still see it. There even appeared to be a small film of light enveloping her.

_No going back. Just forward._

She took a step.

* * *

so Xan's alive. yay! i gotta say, when I used the aliens and ship from 'Abducted', i was soooooo thinking about leaving the blob behind again. But that doesn't strike me as something Ria would do.


	12. Don't Fear the Dark

Don't Fear The Dark

I am the voice of Dragons past

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

Nothing scares you quite more than..._nothing. _This emptiness, this darkness, truly did not show anything that could be considered frightening, yet she was terrified. She wasn't afraid of the dark, never had been, even when she was a smeet. But she was afraid of _this _dark. At least in the dark, the dark that held scary monsters and boogie mans, you at least _knew _something was there. Here, it wasn't like that.

_'There is one being who doth dwell here. The Zenza, the giant, but do not fear.' Okay, I won't. I won't be scared. It's here, somewhere. It's the only thing out here. I don't need to be scared._

The film of light still covered her, but it didn't do anything to light her path. Just one step after the other, keep going forward. It reminded her of a song Tak used to sing to Ezzy when the smeet was really little. Ria was usually up at late hours, so when Ezzy cried at night, she could hear everything.

_How did that song go again?_

"Don't be afraid of the creepy crawlies, halloweenies and monsters too.

They may exist but they're far, far away, and I won't let them hurt you.

Don't fear the dark, don't fear the dark, it will come to its end.

Don't fear the dark, don't be scared, don't be scared, the sun will rise again."

Stepping in rhythm with the song, Ria began a steady walk into the unknown. Before long, she dancing to the chant, never growing tired of repeating it over and over again. _I'll have to ask Tak to add more lyrics. _When the first gust of wind hit her, her entire body froze. The second hit and she cocked her head over her shoulder. She saw her reflection in a giant pupil-less eye. And when that happens, it appears the only logical thing to do is faint dead away.

* * *

When she finally came to, Ria was face to...nose, with a creature unlike any she'd ever seen before. It was _huge! _Much bigger than the Massive with pure black skin. It, too, had a thin film of light surrounding it. It had a reptile-like muzzle with long whiskers hanging from around its lips. It had two large glistening eyes, one on each side of its head, and two smaller ones on the crown. It had large flared ears with small nubbed spikes fanning from them. It had six legs that ended in dangerous-looking clawed feet, four wings spanning from its shoulders and hips, and a split tail down the middle.

"H-h-hello."

The creature rumbled deeply, but it didn't seem hostile. Its head was on the ground so it could look at her, and she could see her whole reflection in one of its eyes. Despite the initial fear, she realized that it was a magnificent beast.

"I'm Ria, and you must be the Zenza. I've traveled all the way here to find you."

It didn't reply. The only thing that it would do was start a staring contest.

"Can't you talk?" she asked after an eternity of silent staring. "Please, I need your help."

It just stared.

"Do you understand me? !" she shouted, beginning to lose her patience. "I had to leave my whole life behind, it's you I've come to find!"

The Zenza suddenly reared its head and trumpeted loudly. Ria jumped back, frightened of the sudden movement.

_What did I do?_

The giant creature's split tail tips whipped around. It bounced on its feet playfully, not starting a land quake, incredibly. It settled its head back down the stare at her, almost as if it was expecting something.

_Was it something I said? Let's see...oh. _After reviewing her thoughts, she realized that crucial thing. What she had said had rhymed. "Were you listening to my song?"

It barked.

"I can perform for you. A serenade for aid?" She giggled lightly.

It chittered through its teeth.

"Do not worry, Zenza beast

I don't fear you in the least!

You are big and I am small

we're both living, aren't we all?

I have green skin, you have black,

you have wings, I have a PAK.

You have six legs, I have two,

we've both got our jobs to do.

You keep the balance that I seek,

a monster's come to harm the weak.

My kind will protect them, this I'm sure

Your help's all I want and nothing more."

The giant trumpeted loudly once again, pleased by her performance. Ria found herself laughing at the playfulness of this creature. The seer of things was like a child! Impress it and you hold its attention. "I'm glad you liked it. Now, can you help me?"

It tilted its head and warbled.

"There's a Meekrob out there named St'lar, he wants to upset the balance and it's your job to keep it. So will you help me destroy him?"

The Zenza's four eyes suddenly looked crestfallen. It flicked out its blue serpentine tongue and turned away. Ria could only watch in horror as it started walking off.

"Hey! Get back here!" She dashed after it, dodging its swinging tail tips, and leapt onto one of its feet. The giant paused and brought that foot forward to stare at the tiny Irken. "You have to help me! The balance is in danger!"

The Zenza shook its head firmly. Before she could react, its long tongue shot out and scooped Ria up. She screamed and viciously kicked against the muscle enclosing her. But her fear was short lived when she was released to sit upon the Zenza's head. The giant kept itself at a steady pace and continued walking on.

Ria slammed her fist against the black skin. "What's the big idea? ! If you're not gonna do your job, why live?" She was answered with a loud growl, which immediately silenced her. The golden eyed Irken brought her knees to her chest and curled up. The Zenza's footsteps didn't even make sound as they pounded. _This place is so unreal. _She was pulled from her thoughts with a throaty purr from her steed.

"I...I can't believe it!"

* * *

Before both of them was a...it looked like a window, or something. Maybe really high-definition TV. It looked so real, she felt as though she could reach out and fall into it. A perfect moving view of Irk, the gardens of the Massive.

"So you do know where I come from."

She could see it all. The drones that didn't jump into their ships working in the gardens, her watchtower, the play area, she could even see Red, Tenn, and Exel standing on the ramp and talking together. She could even see their mouths move. The window itself shifted and she could now see the artificial lake and the hospital off in the distance.

"You watch the universe, so you already know what's happening, don't you?"

She felt the body beneath her rumble deeply.

"Then why didn't you try to stop it?"

The Zenza slowly shook its head, keeping in mind that she was up there. The window to Irk suddenly closed, being replaced by one showing planet Meekrob. Specifically, a Meekrob lying on their deathbed. The glow surrounding it slowly vanished, leaving the empty husk. This window closed and was replaced by one on Vort. A Vortian male was handing a little bundle to a female. A baby.

Ria rested her head in her hands, in turn, resting her elbows on her knees. The Zenza was trying to tell her something, that she realized, but she didn't know exactly what to make out about these clues. A Meekrob dying and a baby Vortian. Death and a baby. Death and birth! She splayed out on her stomach. "Life and death! You keep the balance of life and death! So-" suddenly her emotions deflated, "you can't...help me, can you? You just keep the balance, but you leave all the beings of the universe to their own devices. If one of us rises above the rest, you won't do anything about it."

Her steed let out a soothing purr.

"What am I gonna do?" she rolled on her back, hands covering her eyes. "If you can't help, then there's no hope. St'lar's too good at dodging. And we don't know anything about his plan."

The Zenza barked.

She removed her hands from over her eyes. "What?"

It sighed then began walking forward again.

_I have a feeling I'm not getting through to you._

* * *

She didn't know how long it had been. Time wasn't a factor here. Her PAK fed her, so she wasn't hungry, when she was tired, she slept, which was often, and when she had to pee...well, let's just say the Zenza was all for stopping to let her off to go. The disturbing thing was, it... _watched _her go. She had it figured that since it didn't eat, the Zenza didn't produce waste. But that didn't excuse the creepiness.

"Okay," she said as she zipped up her one-piece suit, "you really need to stop that. It makes me want to hold it in until my spooch explodes. You don't want that, do you?"

It just scooped her back up with its tongue.

Once she was safely back on its head, she crawled forward enough to look at her reflection in one of its smaller eyes. "Is there really a specific place you're taking me, or can I go back to my edge?"

No answer.

"Speak to me, Zenza!" she fell flat, spreading out her body. Her steed halted. Ria shrieked loudly as she felt one of the Zenza's ears smack at her. "What? ! What did I do? !" It grunted and pointed its nose. "Oh goodie, more movie."

This screen wasn't a planet she recognized. Wide expansive plains of tall amber colored grass with rolling hills off in the distance. The window shifted to show a view of towering jungle trees on a ridge of the hills. Among the trees, she could see stone buildings with vines and planet life growing on them. But she also see strange creatures moving among them. Before she was able to question the Zenza about them, the scene shifted to a place deeper in the forest, possibly the heart. A stone altar with offerings of herbs and carved objects. There was a dish at the top of the altar, but it was empty. A stone wall stood behind the altar, several weather-worn carvings upon it. One certain drawing caught her eye. Crude-looking do to wear-down, but obvious to what it described. It was the Zenza.

"Okay, so there's an alien race that worships you?"

The Zenza rumbled deep in its throat. The window changed...strangely. She could see it like it was a card being shifted to one underneath it. As she watched, the stone wall and altar slowly aged backward, becoming newer and more well-kept. It settled. A small object was in the dish of the altar. A tiny pink ball, barely big enough to fit in her palm.

Ria crossed her arms over her chest. "What am I looking at?"

The window closed and another one opened. This one showed some birds with their eggs, probably on Earth.

"It's an egg?"

The Zenza trumpeted loudly.

"And since the stone wall had a picture of you...I'm guessing that's your egg? Wait...how is that possible? !"

The window closed, bringing up the altar with the egg again. Since the sight didn't change in any way, Ria focused more on the other drawings. The center depicted a head-on picture of the Zenza, watching over the stone dish. But the other carvings showed pictures like supernova stars, a group of comets with tails streaking, and several other odd things.

"Am I supposed to be understanding something here?"

The Zenza barked.

"Okay, how about this? Bark for yes, growl for no? Answer my questions."

After a moment of silence, its head tilted forward slightly for a nod.

"First off, is that your egg?"

It barked. Yes.

"How the f-. Whatever. Do you need me to find the egg?"

Yes.

"Will it benefit me? And my people?"

Yes.

"Can't you go find it?"

No.

"What will happen- no, wait. Will it hatch soon?"

Yes.

"Will the egg save my people?"

Silence.

"Okay then. I must find the egg, right?"

Yes.

"Is it still there?"

No.

Ria narrowed her eyes. "Then what the hell am I supposed to do? I can't scour the universe to find something no bigger than my hand." She tugged at the dead half of her antennae. "Do you know where it is?"

Yes.

"Can you show me?"

...No.

"Why not?" she hit her fist against its head. "You're telling me I have to find this thing on my own?"

Yes.

"I wasn't asking for an answer! Will there be a way to find the egg?"

Yes.

"A path of clues?"

Yes.

"Will the first be at that altar?"

Yes.

"Can you tell me what planet it's on?"

The window zoomed out to show the planet. She recognized it. Although she had never stepped onto the planet surface, Ria had seen it before, and its three moons. It was the planet Umber.

"So...I have to go to Umber, find that shrine, and it'll lead me to your egg?"

Yes.

"I'll repeat something. Will the egg save my people?"

The Zenza didn't answer. The window changed to show a star going supernova, then switched to a dying sun, then to a comet bursting apart, then, finally, to a black hole imploding in on itself.

Ria hugged herself and trembled. "Is hell gonna break loose?"

Yes, then no.

"It's either one or the other."

Yes, then no.

"Fine! I'll go to Umber and begin the lengthy universe-wide chase to find your damn egg, which, by what you're showing me, will probably destroy us all." The Zenza lowered its head to the ground, allowing her to slip off. "Hey, quick question. How do I get back?"

The Zenza's whiskers wrapped around her waist, gently turning her 180 degrees. It had been right behind her the whole time. Ria then realized that, in her time spent here, she had never looked behind her. A single light, a pinpoint really, was shining through the darkness.

"'Only a single light shines through'," she whispered. "That's Polaris, isn't it? The brightest star."

Yes.

"And it's the light to guide me back." She bowed to the giant. "It's been a pleasure and honor. The universe will know you are real."

Its whiskers brushed against her head.

"I thank you Zenza, you've taught me well

Your wisdom shows, the legend tells.

To the task you've set, I'm blind

But I'll find your egg and save my kind.

To Umber you send me, to Umber I'll go

I'll follow the paths and face my foe.

To you I pledge great loyalty

Because of you, I know and see."

It trumpeted loudly once she was done singing.

Ria grinned. "Yeah, you like my songs, don't you?" She faced Polaris. "I want to ask you one last thing. Is there a specific reason why you can't help me?"

A small window opened before her. The scene rapidly changed with hundreds of alien species, some she recognized, others she didn't. It just kept changing, finally causing a massive headache and made her look away.

"I understand. I'm...I'm no different from any other alien in the universe. You don't differentiate anything. Why should I be different from any other alien? What gives me a reason for special treatment? Nothing." She sighed deeply. "Goodbye, Zenza, I'm trusting in you." She started walking.

* * *

i drew a picture of Ria looking into the Zenza's eye. My friends absolutely LOOOOOOVE it! they can't get over the cuteness. My girl friends shriek every time I show it.


	13. Umber

Umber

I am the voice of Dragons past

our computer monitor went kersplody, so I'm updating from my dad's house. We'll have a new one soon.

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

The pinpoint of light grew bigger and brighter with each step she took. Ria didn't dare look back to the Zenza. She was afraid of crying. She could only focus on the light.

_How will I get back? The escape pod can't get me there_.

Her question was answered. There, at the edge, sat _Silverflash. _"What?" She popped open the starshield. The blob wasn't there, nor the Hired Hand Guards. But something was. Her Xan robot, deactivated, was sitting in the pilot's chair. "How-?" The robot's eyes lit up bright purple. From the fire core came a flame tail of purple flame. "You have a brain!" Ria climbed inside and knelt in front of the robot. "State function."

The robot opened its metal beak. "Ria! You've got a lot of explaining to do when you get back here!"

She reeled back. Tak's voice.

"A blob, four Irkens who know Yule, and your dying pet that we saw get pulled into a black hole bomb! What is going on? ! Anyways, we noticed Xan's condition. Miyuki suggested exactly what we did with Dib and Gaz. Xan's memories and everything that he is was downloaded into a brain chip, which we installed in your robot. You got Xan back. Hope to see you soon." The robot closed its beak.

"Xan?" Ria leaned close. "Is it really you?"

He squawked and leapt on her. Despite having no saliva and a metallic tongue, he continually licked her face. Ria was positive the skin would be badly scraped, but she still allowed him to do it, too happy to object. The two wrestled a bit, being careful to dodge around the chair. Xan had his claws sheathed so as not to gore her.

"I have a mission, ya ready to go?" she sat back up.

Xan barked and swished his flame tail.

Ria jumped into the pilot's chair. "Off to planet Umber."

* * *

Ria had a moonstone from the third moon of Umber, but she had honestly never been on the actual planet. The plains of golden grass covered most of the planet, confusingly not giving it the name 'Amber'. Small clusters of dark forests were also dotted here and there. It wasn't a very big planet, and since Ria had never heard of any communing with it, it was figured no intelligent life prospered there.

_Then what was with the shrine? If they're not intelligent, how do they know about the Zenza and worship it?_

As the ship entered the atmosphere_, _Ria directed it over to the largest patch of woodland. This patch was surrounded by smaller patches, almost a perfect circle.

_I've got a good feeling about that one._

_Silverflash _jerked wildly, throwing Ria out of her chair. The ship slid into a free fall, spinning as it went. Ria and Xan began screaming loudly. Both were tossed around, hitting several shelves and walls, and each other. With the thorough beating, Ria's body began to fall victim to blinding pain. So, when the ship hit ground, she was already gone.

* * *

"My, my! My, my! Never seen anything like it. Nope, nope!"

"Hurt badly, Chifi-_ato_!"

"Realizing! Come, come, Kirup-_ota_! Yarpe-_kurfeffa_ fix! Fix little girl and meta-monster!"

Ria was in the between. Her eyes weren't working right, but could hear no problem. They were very high-pitched voices, almost musical in speech. One of the owners was carrying her, she felt weightless and also sensed the dead half of her antennae swinging.

"You be okay," said the creature that was carrying her. "Yarpe-_kurfeffa_ fix up! You be okay."

"Where..." she croaked, "where I am?"

"Among friends."

"I'm...still alive?" _Will nothing kill me?_

"Yep, yep!"

"How..." a violent cough wracked her body, sending intense agony shooting through her stiff bones, and causing her to cry out in pain.

"Hold long _ato_! Help coming fast! Hold long!"

Ria could feel the softness of some kind of bedding. She could hear the musical voices speaking with each other, but couldn't make out what they were saying exactly. Something about 'broken bone', 'fell from sky', 'meta-monster', and 'great pain'. Spindly fingers were touching her, feeling her leg and ribs, the centers of her pain. She feebly batted at them when they prodded her ribs, whimpering.

"Hold long, _ato, _we're helping. You be better. You be- AHHH!" Xan's shrieks and snarls reverberated, proving they were in an enclosed space. "Call off meta-monster! We helping, we helping! Go away!"

"Xan!" her voice cracked. "They're helping!"

The snarls quieted almost immediately. Ria felt the spindly fingers removing her suit, but a blanket covered her as soon as it was gone. "Very bad, but not very-very. Can heal, take time. You rest, rest long, and we will heal." Ria flinched as a salve was slathered onto her arms and shoulders. They immediately grew numb and heavy. She couldn't lift or move them. A soaked cloth was placed on her forehead. A small claw pushed itself in the corner of her jaw, forcing her lower jaw away from the upper. A bowl or cup of some kind was placed against her lips. The drink was bitter enough she wanted to spit it out, but was too weak. Obediently, she drank it down, her mind and body relaxing into comfortable darkness.

* * *

It probably the most horrible stench, perfect for waking up a drugged Irken.

"Great Irk!" Ria shot up, knocking away the smelly concoction. She heard the clatter of the cup on the floor, but her attention was drawn to the one who had been holding it. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen. A slim body of smooth reddish-brown skin, an elegant neck, like that of a Earth bird known as a swan, and a whip-like lizard tail. It had a very large chest, almost making it top heavy. But this was fixed by a pair of legs that descended from its shoulders and supported it. It had back legs as well and two skinny long arms with spider-like fingers. It had a slightly curved beak and pupil-less eyes like Irkens. It, too, had antennae, but they were long and feathered. Its outfit was stranger still. A long coat that extended its body, covered by a chest armor cavity and a metal purple collar. It also had a helmet, more like a flat crown, probably more for decoration than defense. "Who are you?"

"I am _kurfeffa, _but since you not from Umber, I translate. I am healer, magic-man, shaman. Name, Yarpe. You lay back down now, not ready."

Ria looked down to realize the blanket had slipped, exposing her bare chest. She shrieked loudly and covered herself, sending a dull throb up her left arm. The lower half of that arm was in a split to keep the bone set. Her ribs ached horribly, but that was nothing compared to her headache. "I feel horrible."

"No surprise, no surprise," said Yarpe in his musical voice. "You hit hard. Incredible ship still in tact."

"It is? Then what caused me to fall?"

"We not spacefolk, but fire movers on back cracked open."

"My boosters, they must have given out. Thankfully, I was heading here."

"All good, all good. You feel better soon, don't worry." He turned away and started mixing herbs that lay on a stone desk. Ria looked around the room for the first time. It looked like a cave, rock walls with grooves carved in for shelves. She was lying on a deeply carved stone dish filled with soft down. "_Otas _Kirup and Chifi took transport away, it in cart storage. You find later, yes?"

"_Otas,_" she repeated, "and you said _kurfeffa. _What are these words?"

"The tongue of the People. _Ota, _little, say name then _ota. Ato, _big. _Kurfeffa, _healer. _Hadura, _hello. Keeps going."

"So...you're Yarpe-_kurfeffa_?"

"Correct, _ota!_"

_Interesting. _"Where's my robot? Where's Xan?"

"Meta-monster? He die over there," Yarpe pointed with his tail.

A sudden feeling of fear died away as Ria realized Xan was just deactivated. "He'll wake up. Is there a name for your people?"

"The People," Yarpe stated simply.

"Well, your kind seem to show the name of your planet than the planet itself. Your color is umber, the planet is amber. I see, you're Umberenes."

"Possibly. Not interact with spacefolk, they give up, give up."

"You choose not to interact?"

"Spacefolk used come often, not anymore. When they came, they offered stars to us, but we say we happy."

"They offered to show you space travel," Ria translated, "but you're happy here."

"The People been here long time, we don't want to go. We're happy with the Mother. We stay close to her."

"Mother...?"

"Mother Nature. When you feeling better, we show you, show you. Let you see the People, they want see you."

"I'm sure. I guess not many aliens fall from the sky around here, huh?"

"No, no. Spacefolk leave us long time ago. Some forget, some don't."

"Since you worship Mother Nature, I'm guessing you're, like, top dog around here?"

"They look to me for guidance, if that what you thinking?"

"Exactly."

"You have someone like me back home?"

"Not a healer, but we do have a leader. His name is Zim, he's a good friend of mine."

"Good, good. Now here," he held out a small cup, "drink and sleep. When sleeping, bones heal faster. You be better soon, better soon."


	14. The People

The People

I am the voice of Dragons past

still ain't got no computer monitor, updating from my daddy's house

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

The soft down dipped slightly. Ria had been sleeping for a long time, long enough that she was tired of sleeping. She came up from the depths from the feeling of the movement. She cracked open her eyes to come face to face with a young Umberene. Those bright green eyes staring into her own golden ones. "Hello?"

"She's awake!" it screamed at the top of its lungs.

"OWWWWW!" Ria whined. Her head was aching so badly. "Split my skull, why don't ya?"

"I don't have knife," said the young one.

"Yah," Yarpe appeared in the doorway, which was more of a simple hole in the wall, "Kirup-_ota, _stand side." The young one climbed off so Yarpe could inspect Ria. "Head hurt, much, yes?"

"Very much."

Yarpe's fingers were so long and skinny, they enclosed Ria's head easily. "I have herbs help, help good. Everything else okay," he manually bent her arm.

"What, really?" She wiggled her fingers and twisted her wrist. "Wow, that healed fast, even with my PAK working."

"Not big surprise," said Yarpe, "you been sleep for four days."

"What! ? Four days!" Ria pushed away the blanket, realized she was still naked and grabbed it back, and rose from the down filled dish. "I've been asleep for four days? What the hell did you drug me with?"

The Umberene picked up a slender chestnut colored leaf. "This be threadmeld. Make you sleep, leave you hanging on by thread of life, heals wounds quicker."

"I was almost dead?"

"How you say...coma?"

"Oh, I see. Well...at least it worked. Xan!" she ordered, "awaken!" The robot activated and jumped to attention. "Where are my clothes?" she asked Yarpe.

"Ruined," he replied, "we find something for you. Kirup-_ota, _show guest to storage. Find clothes."

The younger Umberene, Kirup, reached out and took Ria's hand in his slender fingers. Keeping her other hand gripping the blanket around her, Ria allowed him to lead her out. There had been a chill inside the cave, but out here, there was a pleasant heat that almost made her drowsy. They were in one of the jungle patches, the tall trees towering over them, but she could also see the prairies where the trees thinned out. There was a small crater where her ship had fallen. The houses were all carved from stone. Just large slabs of stone sitting among the trees with openings and windows. There were also large baskets made of branches hanging low on some trees, possibly a hammock. She could also see wooden ramps that circled trees, leading up the trunks. But most interesting were the people. Umberenes of all sizes and shades were at work. Some acknowledged her presence, but mostly pressed on with their different jobs.

"Here," said Kirup, showing her into one of the houses, "clothing storage, we find something, yes?"

"Yes." There were shelves and racks of cloth and articles of clothing. "Maybe I should look in the children's section."

"Yes, yes."

"But I'm not a child, just to let you know. My kind stops being children at ten." Throughout the piles, she managed to find a yellow knee-length robe and a green poncho. "No pants?"

"Don't wear," Kirup shook one of his back legs.

"Well, _I _need pants."

"Maybe this help," he unrolled a length of cloth, "you sew?"

"A bit." Ria helped him with the length. After a few tossed scraps and bloody fingers, she made a pair of suitable pants. "Somehow, it was easier back when I was a smeet."

"Yarpe-_kurfeffa_ say I take you to transport." The cart storage was an actual cave dug into a small rise. Several Umberenes were crowded around _Silverflash, _mumbling to each other.

"Step aside!" Ria ordered, Xan growling for effect. She opened the starshield and climbed inside. The control panel was glowing, indicating she had missed messages. _Oh boy, this isn't gonna be good._ She pressed the play button.

"Ria? Where are you? Xan should've reach you by now."

"I demand a check-up report!"

"You said this line would be open for us, so why aren't you responding?"

"Answer!"

"Pick up!"

"_Please_ pick up!"

Ria leaned back in the pilot's chair. "I've been neglecting them. They're pissed, no doubt." She faltered only once while reaching for the communicator. "I'm reporting in."

"I've been sleeping on the panel for two days!" Zim shouted. "Where have you been? You promised an open line!"

"I'm on the planet Umber right now. There's a riddle to be solved."

"This is no time to be playing games. Is the Zenza real and will it help us?"

"Oh the Zenza's real alright, but it can't help us. It did point me in the direction of something that might be able to. Just hold tight."

"Tell that to Tak, I think she's been fasting since you left...and maybe suffering from insomnia. I have a perfect imprint of the button panel on my cheek." She could hear him breathing through the communicator. "What's this riddle thing?"

"I haven't found the riddle yet. The Zenza showed me what I need to find, it'll eventually lead me to what'll save us."

"Why didn't it just showed you the weapon?"

"I haven't figured that out yet."

Zim let out the loudest grunt of pain she'd ever heard. The communicator clattered and sounded as though someone was fumbling with it. "Hi Ria!"

"Hi Red. Did you body shove Zim?"

"Yes. So...what was it like?"

"What?"

"The Zenza! What was it like?"

"Oh Red," she let out a sigh of contentment, "it was incredible. Such an amazing creature. It can't talk, but it understands everything. It showed me its abilities. I don't think anything could ever amount to what I've experienced."

"...It's real. I wish I could've gone with you."

"They'll be other chances. Okay, I've got work to do. Talk to you later."

"I'm not done talking with her!" Zim called in the background.

Ria cut the feed and leaned back in the pilot's chair. As if for the first time, she finally noticed the Umberenes still crowded around _Silverflash, _all looking dumbfounded. "What?"

"You've seen the Seer?" asked one of them.

"Yeah, I went to the edge."

"You've been blessed by the Seer!" They all bowed their heads to her, humming in unison. Their voices increased with the acoustics of the cave.

"Praise the one blessed by the seer

the being that we hail.

Faith and courage that led you there

and lived to tell the tale!"

Ria rested with her elbows on the rim of her cabin. "You do know about the Zenza. I have something to ask you, a dire need. The Alliance has brought the three most powerful races into a time of peace, but it's in danger now. As a member of one of these races and the creator of the Alliance, I am seeking a way to save it. The Zenza pointed me here. Can you show me to the shrine?"

"You seek shrine?" The crowd parted to let Yarpe through. "The shrine...what need of it, of it?"

"There's something there I must retrieve."

"Nothing there for outsiders," he stomped his foot, "not even for the People, People. Nothing there for you."

"I must get to the shrine! _My_ people and our allies are in danger! I have to!"

"Nothing for you!" he lifted the clawed toes of his shoulder-legs to cling to the rim, forcing her back. "Sacred! The People protect! _He_ protects!"

Xan let loose an explosive roar, causing the cave to shake. He leapt forward, driving Yarpe away. His tail whipped around, coming dangerously close to the Umberene's face. Others shrieked and fled. Kirup dove under a nearby cart, covering his head with his hands. Yarpe rushed over to the same cart, gripping a wooden rod used to shake fruit from trees. He flourished it skillfully, smacking the robot in the head. Xan snarled and dashed under his legs, preparing to throw his head back and gut the Umberene from the tail to ribs.

"Xan!" Ria spoke sharply. "Don't kill him!" Though a little reluctantly, he obeyed, wandering back out from under Yarpe and sitting back on his haunches beside his mistress. "I beg of you, I must see the shrine. St'lar...he hurt someone very special to me. And he'll do a whole lot more! You have to trust me!"

Yarpe gripped the rod tighter. "You know not our ways, our ways. The shrine be sacred. No one can just approach!"

"Then how do I become worthy?"

"First and most important test, befriend Guardian, Guardian." The Umberenes all gasped and began whispering amongst themselves.

"Who's the Guardian?"

"One thing must understand," he even held up a single finger, "shrine sacred. It protects itself, itself. Can't just go to it."

"Is it located in the large portion of forest?"

"Yes, but not that simple, simple."

"How so?"

"None of the People dwell there, forest alive. It protect shrine. You go seeking, it betray sight. You get lost, you die."

"So the Guardian...?"

"You win his trust, he lead you there."

"Okay," she shrugged her shoulders, "how hard could it be? Is he here or do I have to go find him?"

"Next night be celebration. Members of other clans come here. Exchanging of news and songs. He come then, he always does."

* * *

Ria sat cross legged in her stone dish bed. _I never realized how important this was. The Umberenes, the Guardian, even the living forest protect this place. I guess it was foolish to think I'd just waltz up and take the egg. Do trees walk?_

"You very foolish, very foolish," Yarpe appeared in the doorway.

"I've already scolded myself. I've got a few questions for you."

"Questions? Fine, fine."

"Will I have to pass some sort of test to gain the favor of the Guardian?"

"Gaining favor be test in itself, itself. Guardian not trust just anyone, just anyone. Very difficult." He leaned against the stone table. "But something say it not be hard for you, for you."

"Why?"

He held her gaze for a few moments before turning his back to her, shifting through the leaves and berries. Ria tilted her whole body, trying to peer around him. But he made sure to keep her from seeing his face.

"Yarpe...Yarpe-_kurfeffa, _why?"

He turned back to her. "Don't know how you react, that why not want tell, not tell. It may be not so hard...because..."

"Please tell me. I _have _to get to the shrine."

"...because the Guardian is child, no older than you, than you."

"Is that it? Wow, he must be powerful."

"Not all," he held up his hand. "Guardian also something else. Something that may help, may not. For longest time, we wondered where he come from. Now you fall from sky, from sky. Another."

"Another?" her antennae perked.

"Another..._you._"

"Pardon?"

"You! You!" he approached her, pointing a finger at her chest. "Another you."

"I'm an Irken."

"Irken your People?"

"Yes."

"Another."

Ria felt a shiver shoot through her spine. "Another Irken?"

"When I see you, I knew you also him. You both same." He clasped his hands together. "Same blood, same People. You him, he you, you each other."

_Another Irken... _"How did he get here?"

"Same."

"Pardon?"

"Same, same as you. He fell from the sky, the sky."

* * *

another Irken on this strange planet, and he is the Guardian of the shrine. whoot!


	15. Author's Note

Although I hate to say it, I am off my Invader Zm craze. Don't worry, I'm not leaving the fandom, but I've just lost interest. I'll be working on my Naruto stories for a while, but I hope someday I might finish this story. Sorry to all of you.

~Dragonvoice


	16. Firelight

Firelight

hello world, I'm back and with a new name. I'm not saying this is permanent, but I'll try to get back into the rhythm and see this story to the end. Just please don't be disappointed it I take a break again.

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

The time of Firelight was very important to the Umberene People. Members of nearby clans would flock to this certain village, trade stories during a feast, then dance and sing around a bonfire. But that was the most dangerous part. Fires had to be delicately contained in the village. The foliage that grew on the stones houses could ignite with no problem. Thus, this giant bonfire was to be held out on the prairie. Right down the ridge to a special bald circle in the amber grasses. What truly made it dangerous was the predators. The ones to be feared lived on the prairies, being too big to find refuge in the jungles. With the People constantly moving down to the burn pit, there was always that fateful chance.

"Is it at least worth the risk?" Ria stood upon the ridge, right at the edge where the treeline abruptly ended. "Is the celebration good?"

"Never see any better!" Yarpe patted her on the shoulder. "We just be careful, careful."

"I guess it helps that all your clothing blends in," she glanced at him. "Except you, yours is too bright. Is that why you're not helping?"

"I organize, only go down once fire lit. Keep predators away, away."

"But it's a signal for the Guardian?"

"He once was scared, not anymore."

"What's he like?"

"You find out," the healer returned to the village, leaving her with Xan.

_Will this be my only chance? Will he approve of me just for being Irken? _She scanned the plains, keeping a lookout for any of the predators, or the Guardian. The sun was still high in the cloudless sky, casting golden light that caused the wide expanses of grass to shimmer. A couple of young Umberenes rushed by, laughing and dancing around. _They seem so happy just to remain on their planet. Was it space travel that turned the Empire to conquering? If we had remained only on the home planet would things have been different? _Xan tugged at her sleeve, pulling her from her thoughts. The grass in the distance was parting. Ria tensed, ready to flee back to the village and ring the warning bell.

"They're here!" an Umberene at the pit shouted.

The rest dropped whatever they were dragging, mostly firewood, and rushed to where the grass was parting. More Umberenes appeared, only these ones were more reddish in skin color, almost crimson. They were pulling carts behind them, an ancient looking Umberene sitting in a pile of woven grasses on one of them.

"Ria-_ota,_" Yarpe came striding past her, "come join in welcome." He started down from the ridge.

"Wait Yarpe!" she started after him, "I thought it was too dangerous to be wearing your clothes down there!" As they drew closer, she got a good look at the elder. His dark skin hung off his body, as did his robes. His eyes were clouded over and seemed to bulge out of their sockets. _Geez, he's old! I've never seen an Irken that age._

Yarpe approached the cart, holding out a hand to the elder. "Welcome, welcome. Allow to escort to shade?"

"Yes, yes," he rose up, his dangerously thin legs shaking. But he pushed Yarpe's offered hand away and climbed down on his own.

"I'm surprised he didn't break anything," Ria said to herself.

"Bad!" the scold came from right beside her, causing her to jump. It was Chifi, one of the Umberenes who had rescued her.

"What? I'm voicing an opinion."

"That be greatest elder! He legend, don't speak such bad things, bad things!" He even hit her in the head.

"Hey!" she jumped on his back and started pulling his antennae. The skirmish grew louder as he thrashed around, knocking against other villagers. They squealed loudly, drawing even more attention. Soon Chifi decided it was over. He rolled on his back, crushing Ria beneath him. "You son of a-"

"Ria!" Yarpe and the elder were standing over them. "No time for fighting!"

"He hit me! Xan, get him off." The robot rammed into the Umberene, rolling him off his mistress.

"You not among us," croaked the elder, brushing a spindly finger against her face. "You not of the People. Who are you?"

"Ria...sir."

"Ria...not Umberene name. _What _are you?"

"I'm an Irken."

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Never heard."

"You're not space faring, you wouldn't. But your Guardian is my kind."

He waved his hand. "The Guardian his own, no other like him, like him. You foolish child."

Ria pouted. "It's true! Yarpe said so, we're both Irkens. And I'm not a child!"

"How dare!" the elder turned on Yarpe, "no other like Guardian! You foolish child as well." He tossed his head. "_Kurfeffa _little light in head when choose you."

"Now hang on a moment!" but before she could tell him off, Ria was tripped by Yarpe's tail.

"Don't make scene," he hissed. "All be better."

* * *

"How could you let him talk about you like that? !" Ria, Yarpe, and Xan were inside the healer's abode once more. "You're just as good as he is! He's just an old turkey!" Xan growled with her.

"That may be, but he still great. Besides, won't live much longer, longer." He winked at her. "He not like me as _kurfeffa, _think old one made mistake."

"Why's that?"

"Because I too young. But not worry now. Must keep setting up."

"About that... what exactly will we be doing?"

He sighed contently, lost in his memories. "Feast for all, then dancing and singing around fire. But time of year. Sparks sail into sky, into stars. Most beautiful sight, forever in memory."

"Do you remember your first?"

"Yes, as you will remember yours."

* * *

The feast had been held at sunset, as the reddening sun turned the plains blood red. But the lighting ceremony was something to behold. As night descended, the villagers and the visitors from several different villages grouped around the towering pile of tinder. Everyone was silent, with only the chirping of some kind of insect to be the only background noise. The elder was carrying a torch, the only source of true light, seeing as how the half moon didn't do anyone any good. With the orbit, only the third moon, the furthest away, was in sight. The crowd closed behind him as he stumbled by. Several squeaked and tried to aid him, but he waved them away and continued on.

_I gotta admit, he's determined...for a turkey. _Ria hugged her poncho tighter around her shoulders. Despite it being 'the warm time', there was still a slight chill. Which was why she was currently standing next to the tinder pile. _Although that's probably not the best idea, _she realized. _When that torch reaches here...eventually...this thing's shooting up like a firecracker._

The elder inched closer, holding the flame above his head. "With lighting now, we begin festivities." He tossed the torch, either too tired or lazy to continue, onto the pile. The fire spread incredibly quickly, traveling up the wood until the pile was thoroughly ignited.

"Great Irk!" Xan jumped to attention by his mistress' shout. By the light of the bonfire, three hulking figures with glowing eyes leapt away. They snarled and started circling around. "Stragglers cluster close! Xan'll scare 'em off!" Said robot was already flaring his tail intimidatingly. The beasts shrieked and rushed him, but he stood strong. He opened his mouth and blew out a recording of their own snarls. With the threatening sounds of enraged members of their own species, the beasts began to slowly back off.

"Impressive, impressive!" Yarpe cheered after they fled. "Usually they injure before going. Good this time. Let us celebrate!"

All thought of a horrible demise by the beasts was forgotten. The Umberene People started dancing around the fire, singing and waving their hands. Ria retreated further back, choosing to sit beside Yarpe on blankets. "When will the Guardian show up?"

"May be a while because of beasts. But shouldn't be long, be long." He stared into the fire, the light dancing in his eyes. "Maybe want sing?"

"Excuse me?"

"Sing? Do you want to sing?"

"I...I don't know. I don't really know any songs that would interest you. Irk is technologically advanced, we don't communicate by song. We have chat screens."

"Make one up."

"Make up a song? I guess I could do that."

"We don't know anything about you, maybe tell us in song?"

Ria began noting things in her mind. _What should I tell them? What'll they even understand? Tallest Miyuki, Earth, Bad Ria, Alpha Group, what? _

* * *

"As a guest among you, I would like to perform for you," Ria stood in front of the fire, being silhouetted in light. "I fell from your sky, a mysterious visitor, and you know nothing of me." She cleared her throat a few times.

"Watch me, watch close, locked in a cage

yet around my neck I hold the key of the age.

Should I choose to be free and undo the twine

lift the key around my neck and leave this all behind.

From the trial of early life, the scars I show to thee

spin a tale of horror and fear, a tale of misery.

In my conscience, my split mind, an darkness festered there

that which forced an evil eye and threw me in despair.

Sapphire eyes to haunt my dreams, leaving me in faze

but in time to learn the truth and flood out the haze.

The pain I've bore, the blood I've bled, everything you see

lost on the path of life and death, what future is there for me?"

The applause was amazing. Musical voices ascended into the sky and echoed across the plains. Ria was panting hard, but was grinning at her acknowledgment. She wandered back to Yarpe and flopped down beside him.

"Very good, very good. You did well."

"I can tell."

"Yarpe-_kurfeffa!" _Chifi stooped beside them. "He is here."

Ria could see the ripple in the grasses. _Another Irken...here he comes. _She jumped to her feet and rushed over.

"Ria wait!" Yarpe called after her.

The Umberenes parted for her, revealing the Guardian. The golden eyed female slid to a halt. Not exactly what she was expecting. Definitely Irken and male, he wore a long sleeve green shirt that was severely patched, black pants, and had his feet bandaged instead of shoes. He was crouched on all fours, like an animal.

"Oh my," she approached him carefully, not knowing how to react in this situation. "Hello? Guardian?"

His shimmering silver eyes widened. His long antennae twitched wildly before settling flat against his head.

"You're an Irken, and so am I." She inched closer. "I need your help."

His head moved slightly as he looked her up and down. She saw his chest beginning to expand and deflate more rapidly. His body began to tremble.

_He's scared. _"I need-"

He turned and fled into the grasses.

"No! Come back!" She rushed after him, but his ripple disappeared into the distance. "You need to lead me to the shrine! Our species, our Empire, the Alliance! Please!"

But he was gone.


	17. What He Knows

What He Knows

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

Lady Frith'gen checked over the readings again and again. It was true, all of it. "Dev'yin!"

The female Meekrob joined her, a little flock of Meekrob wisps following her. They went wherever she did. She claimed they were orphans, and since Klg'har was dead, Frith'gen decided to believe her. "What is it, my Lady?"

"Send a message to planet Irk, St'lar is on the move."

She flinched, her hood fluttering slightly. The wisps all began whimpering and clustered beside her. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. His energy is fluctuating," she gestured to a small crystal ball positioned on the table. A scrap of Meekrob hood was floating inside.

"That thing is very useful," Dev'yin stated. "Why can't we use it to pinpoint his location?"

"Because nothing is ever that easy."

"Do you think he found Ria?"

"Tak and Zim have assured me that Ria has a new protector. She'll be fine. But this is the chance to find him."

"Yes ma'am." The female departed, the wisps eagerly following her out.

Frith'gen turned to look out the window of her palace. _I was elected to be the leader of my people. This is a very dire time. We were betrayed by one of our own. The Alliance is in danger of being ripped apart. _She sighed and looked over to the orb. _There is one way I could find him. _She approached it, her tendrils waving with psychic energy, pouring every bit of her spirit. _One desperate way.  
_

* * *

Ria rapped on the wall with a stone. "I'm not waiting anymore!" She had a bag slung over her shoulder. "It's been a week, he's not coming back! And I'm not waiting for him! I'm going out there."

Yarpe gasped. "You'll die! The forests don't want you there!"

"I don't care. I have to help my people."

"But he your people."

"No he's not! He's just some idiotic savage who can't function in Irken society. That's probably why he fled here. He just ran away from his problems. Well I'm tired of waiting, I'm leaving. Let's go, Xan." The two left the healer's home, ignoring the gapes and stares, and strode right through the trees. The village was located in one of the smaller portions of forest. In the center of this ring was the large jungle, and in the heart of that, the shrine. _And I'll find it without the help of the Guardian. What could he know that I can't learn? MY people are in danger and I'm gonna act. _

"Not good idea!" Chifi and Kirup came rushing after her. "Forest swallow alive! Need the Guardian!"

"Unless you're coming with, be quiet."

* * *

_I have to admit...the jungle doesn't exactly look friendly._

Massive, towering trees with vines and moss hanging and/or growing on them. Boulders slick with mildew and creepy looking plant tendrils that looked as though they could wrap around her ankles and drag her away. The sound of an animal chirping echoed through the trees. Ria paced in front of the trees, slightly anxious about this. Sure, the forest didn't look like a living thing, but neither did a Control Brain. Just because it didn't breathe, or move, didn't mean it wasn't alive. And who knew what else resided among those trees?

"I'm not scared if that's what you're thinking," she said to Xan.

The robot tilted his head to the side.

_Just one foot in front of the other. Just like at the edge. Only I have Xan this time._

She scaled the first boulder she came to, slipping and striking her chin only once. Unfortunately, it didn't offer a very good vantage point. The trees were too thick. The sound of a river trickle drew their attention. Ria drew out her spider legs, carefully shifting among trunks and foliage. Xan trotted along behind.

"This...isn't so bad. We can do this!"

A stone was flung from beneath a bush, striking her in the chest. The female fell with a grunt, curling in a ball upon impact. Xan growled and charged at it, basically ripping it apart. A dark shape fled from the carnage.

"Get it!" Ria viciously stabbed her spider legs as the figure ran around. "Get it! Catch it!"

The figure latched onto one of her legs. She waved it around wildly, but it clung tightly. _This is oddly familiar._

* * *

"Yarpe-_kurfeffa, _trees really alive?"

"No Kirup-_ota. _Trees not alive, but forest is."

"No make sense!" the young one whined.

"Out there, live the Protectors."

"Like the Guardian?"

"No, the Guardian lead to shrine, Protectors defend. I worry for Ria, may come in contact, contact."

"What they do?"

"Harm. Be small, but fierce. Pray and worry she come in contact with..." he looked out the window, seeing storm clouds roll in, "...the natives."

* * *

The bottom half of the spider leg broke off, causing Ria to become unbalanced and fall into the mud. She created a splash that hit the creature as well. It squealed and rubbed at its eyes. Now, with a full view of it, Ria was almost shocked. It was about two heads taller than her with a slim body of pale bluish skin. It had dark fur covering its shoulders, chest, back, thighs, and completely covered its tail. It had furry pointed ears that were folded to cover its mud-splattered face. It had thin arms, fingers with no exaggerated claws, and thin legs each ending in a three toed foot. It continued whimpering and wiping the mud away. It was sitting on its haunches, its plumy tail curled around its feet. It looked...so innocent.

_Am I gonna regret this? _Ria took a clean corner of her poncho and crawled forward. The creature unfurled its ears. Its eyes opened, but were fogged over. _Another eyelid. _It rose off its haunches and made a clicking sound deep in its throat. "Okay, calm down. Just...let me help you." She reached out with the corner of the poncho and began delicately wiping away some of the mud. The creature growled, but didn't make a move until she got to its eye.

Xan screeched and charged when the creature swiped at Ria. He bowled it over into the mud. It shrieked loudly and started skittering toward the river. Xan charged after it, his unsheathed claws flinging mud everywhere. His metal beak clamped down on its tail but released when it retaliated with a sharp kick. Enraged, he clamped on its leg this time, rewarded with a frightful snap. It unleashed a piercing scream and tried dragging itself into the river, but Xan held fast. The creature shoved its hands into a fold of skin on its stomach. It pulled a sharpened rock out of the pouch.

"Let go!" He obeyed instantly. The creature curled up among the roots of a nearby tree. It curled up defensively, hiding its head. "I'm not gonna hurt you. Let me help you. Do you speak?" It hissed at Ria once she touched it. _Okay, this isn't going to work. _"I'm trying to help you!"

"_Ikstah! Dunabee teptep_!"

Ria stumbled away from the tree, slipping and falling into the mud once more. There he was, the Guardian, resting comfortably in the crotch of a low forked branch.

"_Jexu quomfer genjitax thrum_!" he scolded. "_Haqun gatty burbuna, goxie dahn_!" He dropped from his perch, landing expertly on all fours. He checked the creature over, nudging at it and cooing affectionately. After looking it over, he turned back to Ria and Xan. "_Gengi klahn verfa_!" A deep rumble of thunder interrupted his scolding. They all looked upward at the rolling clouds. "_Vurgu wagin_!" Two dark shapes shot past Ria and Xan, scooped up the injured one, then disappeared. The Guardian took one last look at them before springing back into the tree, leaving the Irken female and her robot all alone as the rain began to fall.

Ria turned on Xan. "Well it seems we just attacked one of his comrades. Now he hates us!" The rain turned the ground into a mudslide. "We better go."

* * *

Several Umberenes had sheltered in the cart cave from the heavy rains. It was either wait it out or get soaked.

*beep* *beep*

They flocked over to _Silverflash,_ heads craning to see the button on the panel flashing. None of them dared touch it. And after a few beeps it went to recording.

"Ria," a male's voice, "we've got some bad news. Frith'gen's been hospitalized, her energy is almost gone. Dev'yin's in her place for now. Ria...she said 'the Defect is among her kind', I hope this makes sense to you."

* * *

Rain slipped easily through the foliage of the canopy, so the trees didn't offer much protection. But Ria and Xan managed to squeeze under a rocky overhang. They had a good view of part of the river. The banks were overflowing into minor flooding. Lightning flashed numerous times with the loud boom of thunder roaring soon after. Xan's tail had been extinguished and his eyes were flickering on and off, an action that frightened his mistress greatly. If he shut down, she wouldn't be able to get his heavy body out of the forest.

"We can't stay here, the river will swamp us. The others didn't happen to put a navigational system in you, did they?" Xan stared back blankly. "Of course not." A blinding flash of lightning crashed into a towering tree, igniting it instantly. The duo darted from their sanctuary as the base trunk splintered apart and fell the tree in their former direction. Ria pressed her back against the tree they had rushed to. Her breathing was erratic and her claws dug into the damp bark. "This isn't good. This is NOT good!"

"_Taddy bernema_."

Ria glanced up, peering through the foliage. There he was, casually stretched out on a tree branch, looking down at her with a slightly bored expression. "Pardon?"

He sighed loudly before jumping down, landing on all fours in front of her. Xan growled at him, but the Guardian ignored his warning. He sat back on his haunches like an animal. He leaned forward slightly, sniffing at Ria's clothing.

"Please, can you help us? We can't do anything without you." The thunder boomed loudly, causing her to shut her eyes.

A new sensation gripped her body. Ria squeaked as she was swung upward. The branches scraped against her arms and face. By the time her momentum stopped, blood was leaking out in a few wounds and she had a mouthful of leaves. She clung to the branch and spat and coughed the mulch out. She felt the branch she was sitting on dip and settle as a weight dropped off. She looked down to see the Guardian pushing Xan up the tree.

"You're helping us?"

He 'hphed' and tossed the robot up beside his mistress. He slipped through a small hollow in the tree, disappearing from their view. He popped his head back out and gestured for them to follow. The hollow was indeed a small cavern carved within the heart of the tree. There was barely enough room for all three of them. A pile of dry leaves was strewn about, so at least they didn't have to sit on the bark. "Eechuna," the Guardian spat.

"This is..." Ria looked around the hollow, "very nice. Is this your home?"

"_Eechuna,_" he repeated.

"Eechuna," she copied him.

His antennae shot up. "_Destu vem ix_?"

"Uh..." she was stumped.

He scoffed and turned away, obviously bored with her. It was then that Ria realized a crucial fact. In her shock, she buried her fingers into the leaves, touching something hard. She scraped the flooring away and pulled it out. Found the solution. She was holding a standard PAK, the Guardian's PAK. He wasn't wearing it. Ria counted the moments as they passed. He didn't grow sluggish in any way.

"Great Irk," she whispered, "you're an Auto-Defect."

He glanced at her from over his shoulder. "De...def...defect..."

"Auto-Defect. You have no idea how special you are. The only question is, how did you get here?" she reached out to him.

The Guardian bared his teeth. His silver eyes flashed in hatred. Ria gasped and pulled her hand back. _Why? Why does he hate me? What did I do? _He shot past them and back out the hollow. "Wait! Xan, come on!" the duo followed the retreating Irken, his form already fading in the heavy rain._ We can't lose him! _The rain pelted her eyes, blinding her enough that she couldn't see the Guardian. A root caught her ankle, sprawling her into the mud. Xan slid to a halt beside her. "Don't worry about me! Just find-!" but he was gone. There were no more trees. They were in a clearing, a very familiar one at that. "We're...we're back near the village. He led us back to the village."

* * *

The message was relayed. Ria let out a shaky breath and collapsed against _Silverflash._

"Bad news?" asked Yarpe.

"Very bad. A friend may be dying."

"Very sad," he shook his head side to side.

"Yarpe, you need to know something. While all of you are safe and comfy on Umber, there is a crisis situation that has thrown my Alliance in turmoil. A being by the name of St'lar is wreaking havoc and threatening to destroy our homes. I went to the Zenza for help and it sent me to find its egg. Which led me here. I need to find that egg, my people and comrades are depending on me. The universe may be depending on me."

"I cannot help. Only Guardian. And since he show you back, he maybe."

"He might learn to trust me?"

"Just might."

* * *

though you may not believe it, it's hard to make up the Guardian's gibberish words. I'm just basically typing away on the keyboard.


	18. The Geyser and the Shrine

The Geyser and the Shrine

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

Small dams and trenches had to be built around each house. The loose mud was swamping down into the plains, flattening the amber grasses. Through the roar of wind and thunder, there was the unsettling sound of shattering wood as a tree lost its anchor roots and fell, knocking against other trees and slamming into the ground, getting drowned in sludge. For three days, the Umberene People huddled together in their abodes, waiting out the storm.

"Worst in years," said Yarpe.

"So I take it this doesn't happen often?" Ria asked, lifting the window cover.

"Storm, yes, but not like this, like this. This very bad."

"What do those creatures do? And the Guardian?"

"Elew native people run to high caves, Guardian," he hung his head, "wait out."

"He doesn't go with them?"

"For some reason, no."

Ria couldn't bear the feeling of knowing he was out there, all alone, hiding in a tree hollow. He was her kind, not just Irken, but _her _kind. Probably the only other Auto-Defect to escape Irk alive. _I won't let him die out there. _The shattering of a tree trunk split the air like gunshot. Ria's spooch jumped in shock. _It's his tree! I know it is! He's hurt and scared and cold and..._

"What doing?" Yarpe's hand was on her shoulder, keeping her in place.

Unconsciously, she had been moving toward the doorway. "I have to find him."

"He survived other storms."

"Any this bad?"

"...No. But have faith, have faith. He strong."

"I know he is, he's just like me." Ria pushed his hand away. "Xan! We're going out." The robot jumped to attention and followed his mistress into the downpour.

* * *

Eyes filled with hate watched the two figures leave. _I knew I'd find you. _The eyes watched as the two companions disappeared into the forests.

* * *

The mud gripped their feet, threatening to trip and swallow them up. Several trees had toppled, their roots sprawled up like spider legs. The flashes of lightning would blind the duo, the thunder would shake their frames. Ria fought against the grip of the swamp ground. Her fear drove her further on, ripping away branches that stood as any kind of barrier. She had to find him, nothing would stand in her way.

"Are you there? !" she called over the rumble. "I'll help you!"

Xan ran along fallen trees to keep out of contact with the mud. His circuitry wasn't compatible with such things, since they didn't exist on Irk and hadn't for years. His eyes lit up a path for his master.

A loud yell drew their attention toward the river, or the place where the river had been. The banks had burst and the water level was melding the high and low land. One could only wonder what would happen when the level went back down and the river settled. A tree was felled across the water, broken in the center so splintered bark rose into a sharp incline. The Guardian was trapped at the break, hanging sideways because his leg was caught. He was clinging to the bark to keep himself upright.

"Hang on!" Ria heaved herself up, sliding dangerously from the slippery bark. She inched out, reaching for him. His eyes flashed but he didn't make a move to harm her. "Reach!" she ordered. He swung back slightly and then stretched forward. She grabbed his wrist, suspending him. His leg was caught deep in the break, but the bark was caught deep in his leg. "Xan! Free him!"

The robot moved like a spider, his claws digging into the bark as he crawled forward. He utilized his sharp beak and chopped the large splinters away, unfortunately leaving them embedded in the Guardian's leg. But it was good enough. Ria threw the male's arm over her shoulder and carried him off. Xan leapt off just as a wave of water lapped over the tree. Ria placed the Guardian on the robot's back, holding him upright, and, together, the three ran back for the village.

* * *

"You're alive!" Yarpe cheered as the sodden and muddied trio collapsed on the floor. "Bad, bad," he checked over the Guardian's leg. "Need much medicine."

"Hey," Ria realized, "you're wearing your PAK."

The Guardian turned his head away, choosing to focus on the outside. Suddenly, he pawed viciously at the PAK, ripping it off and sending it skidding toward Ria. She picked it up, checking it over. It functioned just fine. While Yarpe dealt with the Guardian, she began PAK-hacking.

"It says here...your name is Nix, and you...are only three years older than me. How about that?"

He growled.

"Okay, fine..." but she couldn't help feel remorseful.

"He not at you," said Yarpe. "I sense too, something out there, out there." The _kurffefa _retreated toward the back. "Watch him please. Going for rest."

Ria could feel sleep overtaking her. Her muscles were sore and demanded rest. Xan shut down a few feet away. She leaned her head back against the wall. But right before she was gone, she felt a warm body press close beside her.

* * *

The dark figure waited in the rain. That Irken male had sensed him, so he waited until their life signatures slowed considerably. They were asleep. He slipped through the covering on the window. It was dark in here, he was barely able to make out shapes. But their signatures were strong. He descended so he could face them. The Irken female looked so innocent in her sleepy state, but he knew the truth about her and what she was capable of.

"_Desu_," hissed the Guardian.

The figure reeled back. The male was pressed close to Ria, claws digging into the ground, silver eyes glimmering. "This does not concern you."

"_Kran_!" he growled. He balanced on one arm and crossed the other over Ria's body. "_Amso_...leave."

He wasn't sure if that was just a gibberish word or if the Guardian was actually speaking, but it didn't matter. His own signature flared with hatred as he vanished into the night.

* * *

_Keep watch for natives. _That's what Yarpe said.

"Slow down!" the aftermath of the storm was proving to be a very hard terrain to cross. Ria tripped repeatedly as she struggled to keep up with the Guardian. It seemed her rescue was the very thing that it took to earn his trust. He was showing her the way to the shrine. "Nix!"

He stopped short and waited for her.

"Thanks, I'm not used to this."

"U-used..."

"Yeah, this isn't my natural habitat."

"N-n-natur-ural."

"Natural. Where's Xan?" she looked around for her robot. "Oh, there he is." The robot was sitting in a clearing, looking at something that wasn't in her line of sight. The two Irkens approached him. It was the shrine, weathered just like the vision had shown her. The dish was empty. "Now...to just figure out who took the egg and where it ended up."

The Guardian glared hatefully at the shrine, mostly at the empty dish. He rocked back to his legs and actually stood up, revealing his height to exceed Ria's by at least six inches. He placed his claws on the edge of the dish and let out a soft whine. Ria reached out to him, hesitating a moment, but finally place a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'll find it."

He scoffed slightly at her response. Without warning, he dropped back down to all fours and wandered around to the back of the shrine. She followed him in earnest, but the backside revealed nothing. It was as weathered as the front and covered in thick vines and moss. She was about to return to the front, but the Guardian snagged her boot and held her in place. Once she acknowledged this, he ripped at the plants with his claws. Something was crudely carved into the stone.

Ria traced along the jagged edge of the carving. It was a very strange insignia, she'd never seen it before. It looked like an exclamation point with a triangle base. This wasn't an original part of the shrine. Someone had put it there. Purposely. "Where have you seen this before?"

The Guardian made another scoffing sound and bounded off into the trees. Ria growled in exasperation and followed, Xan keeping pace beside her. However, once the jungle proved to be too much of a hassle, he ran up front, slashing plants aside to clear a path for her. This went on for a while until the robot was tackled from the side.

"Whoa!" Ria drew out a spider leg to strike, but the appendage was floored by the Guardian who leapt from the foliage. "Let go of that!" He growled and pushed his full weight on it. She bared her teeth and withdrew the leg to prove a point, only to realize that's what he wanted her to do.

Xan was struggling violently with the creature. Despite his abilities as a robot, the creature seemed to have a pretty good sense of fighting. The ferns and moss were flattened, several vines were snapped, it wasn't until a whole patch of fungal-type specimens were ripped away that the fighting broke apart. The attacker was similar to the creature from Ria's first venture in the jungle.

It snarled viciously, rushing Xan until he backed away. It then fell to the ground, fingers gently touching the fungus. Its head tipped back and it released a low moan. Ria gasped as the fungus moved, revealing itself to be some sort of reptilian creature in camouflage. The native picked up the reptile and dashed into the foliage.

"What just happened?" But the Guardian was already urging her to follow. The native was adapted for this terrain, but he seemed to know the path as well. Ria and Xan had no choice but to pursue without breaking down plants, which they deduced was the reason they'd been attacked in the first place.

"Stop!" the shock that the Guardian had spoken a comprehensible word was enough to halt Ria in her tracks. They were in a clearing surrounding a pool that the river stemmed from. But the pool wasn't even that big, hardly a source of the raging river.

_This can't be the water source. _A deep rumbling under her feet almost knocked her over. The tremor built up until a stream of crystal water shot into the sky, pouring over into a fountain that threw rainbow streaks on the surrounding area. The pool filled to the brim as the geyser died down. _That explains it. _The native approached the edge of the pool and lowered the reptile into it. It waited until the small, limp creature suddenly floundered with a burst of life. It was then lifted out and set in the moss, where it scurried off. "It's a healing pool."

The native looked over at them. Its ears flattened and it hissed softly, appearing intimidating. Xan roared back, sending a flock of avian creatures into the sky. The Guardian snarled at both and then seemed to converse with the native using body language. After their conversation, the native moved to the edge of the trees and waited.

The Guardian flicked his antennae and glanced at Ria. The three walked the edge of the pool together. Ria peered into the water, seeing waving fronds of plant life among smooth, blue pebbles. Once they reached the native, it led on a hidden path of broken tree trunks and boulders until they reached a giant among trees. Hundreds of the natives were milling about in nests built into the branches. They all started chirping at their new guests until the one leading them barked back.

They met the clan at the base of the tree. They all seemed overjoyed to see the Guardian. Little kits were jumping on him and chewing on his antennae, while he sat and let them do so. After he brushed them away, he drew the insignia from the shrine in dirt. The natives all started chirping excitedly. Soon Ria and Xan found themselves surrounded and herded along a bald path. The natives didn't stop pushing until they reached a cave not unlike the one the Umberenes used to store their carts.

The Guardian went straight to the wall and ran his claws over the very same insignia. The cave was full of crates and space-faring equipment, but they were slowly being taken b the jungle. Ria began searching among the crates, tearing lids off left and right to find the egg. The whole place was upside-down by the time she gave up.

"It isn't here," she murmured. "I don't understand." She felt a nudge on her arm. The Guardian dropped a sheaf of papers, actual papers, into her lap. _Jeez, how long has it been since I've seen something like this? _She sorted through them, only glancing at the pictures on each paper. The rest slid off her lap when she held up the one that bore a photo of the egg. The writing wasn't Irken, but it was fairly close. There were a few words she couldn't identify.

_Strange orb found...shrine. Unknown purpose. Possibly...discolored from those in pool. Threw...collection...treasures. Sold as jewelry... High price...Coneheads._

The Coneheads! The only one she was familiar with was Shloonktapooxis and even then she didn't interact with him that much. But right now, he was the only one that could even come to mind. The egg was with his people, being adorned as jewelry. But there was one thing she couldn't help noticing. _Discolored from those pool... _Her mind flashed to the smooth pebbles in the geyser pool. Whoever had found the egg must have thought it came from the pool and was colored pink for some reason, then deduced that the natives found it sacred in such a way, and thus they placed it in the shrine.

"I know what I have to do. I thank you for leading me here. I'm sorry for the attacks, I'm sure none of you ever meant any harm." They chirped at her and dispersed quickly. "I thank you the most," she said to the Guardian. "I can only hope that one day you decide to pursue the knowledge of what you truly are. Even among our species, Nix, you are very special."

"Special," he repeated. "Nix."

"Your name is Nix, that was the name assigned to you. But I changed my name, so who's to say you can't do the same? It was Ezari, now I'm Ria."

"Ria," he nodded at her, "Nix," he placed a hand on his chest.

"Xan," she pointed to the robot.

"Nix. I am Nix," he reared on his legs again. "Ria...Irken...Defect."

"So you can speak. I was wondering if that PAK had any affect at all."

"You...me. I go?" His antennae twitched in his curiosity.

"Yes, you can go back to your life."

"No...I go? Go...with you?"

She took a step back, shocked from the realization of what he was asking. He wanted to go with her. He wanted to return to Irk, his birthplace. Or maybe...it was just _her. _Her company. He was frightened to first meet her, but after seeing that this new creature was his kind, he must have decided her company, and that of their own kind, was the best option. "I...I don't know if the Empire has a place for someone like you." _Yeah I do, an insane asylum. _

"Go with you," he repeated, this time, it wasn't a question.

"I want you to realize something. The others are nothing like you. Someone like you...would be condemned to death." Despite the new order, some Defectives were so unstable, they were killed. Although Nix obviously had his own mental stability level, and it was perfectly fine, his actions and customs would be completely barbaric to the Irkens. They wouldn't accept him. "I think it would be best if you stay here."

"Nix go with Ria. I see... _daa-nua_...he kill." Due to his time spent walking on all-fours, his spine was curved greatly to keep his balance. He lumbered up to her and tucked his head even lower. Ria had seen this action with animals on Earth. He was submitting. "Protect...he kill."

She had no choice. "Alright, let's go."

* * *

Everything she needed to repair her ship was brought back with them. As she worked, the Umberene people came to watch. They knew she was leaving, and they knew Nix was going with her. They had lost their Guardian, but Ria revealed the knowledge of the egg's whereabouts, and it seemed it was a little bit easier to see him go.

"Yarpe," the young Irken female approached the one who had saved her life, "I thank you for everything you've done. My people will send recompense for your hospitality."

"Sad to see you go, go." His spindly fingers reached out and touched her forehead. "The Zenza has plans for you, for you. You are its own."

"Before we go, I have one question for you. What does _daa-nua_ mean?"

His antennae fronds jerked in astonishment. "It mean 'evil one', bad, very bad soul."


	19. By the Egg

By the Egg

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

Ria didn't know how much time altogether had passed since her arrival on Umber. Of course, time on one planet and time on another could be completely different depending on the speed and trajectory of the orbit. That was why so much time could pass on Irk and barely any on Earth. A few weeks on Umber could mean years on Irk. And she hoped to the heavens it wasn't so.

Nix was finding his new experiences to be both frightening and exciting. He had marveled at the flashing lights, reaching out eagerly to touch them until Ria rebuked him. He had settled now on the bunk, but hadn't truly relaxed. His antennae were twitching wildly. His head whipped around, his silver eyes wide as he seeked out something she couldn't detect even on the radar.

The papers had said the egg was in the possession of the Coneheads. She remembered seeing several in recent years, but only knew one, Shloonktapooxis. Something told her this was a long shot, but it was the only lead she had. A wild guess was better than none at all. The return to Vort was as quick as she could urge _Silverflash _to go. The landing mat she chose was deserted, as was the ship bunker.

"Hello!" she called upon exiting her ship, Xan and Nix crouched at her feet. "It's me, Ria! I've returned!" She perked her antennae to catch any sound vibrations. The back of her head was tickled by the dead nerves, but the air was empty of the vibrations that usually existed on such a technologically advanced planet. No people, no machines, no gears churning, no electric surges. It was like the whole planet was dead.

Rapid footsteps interrupted her slight grief. Spleenk, an alien known for his terribly ideas, was approaching her quickly. "Thank goodness!" he said in his nasally voice. "They're waiting for you"

"Where is everyone?"

"Hiding. St'lar's been making broadcasts since you disappeared, sending threats and such. _I_ think we should-"

"Stop, just stop." They hurried to the closest entrance to the Vort Underground. Immediately, Ria saw the citizens she had noticed missing from above. Vortians and other species of all kinds and ages were crowding the halls, shifting among the wires. Vort had always been more species-friendly, and even though the Alliance stood, other aliens still preferred to come here than Irk. Hands and tentacles reached out to her, voices crying out in happiness. Nix hissed if anyone tried to touch him.

"Ria!" Lard Nar stood in front of a large screen with former members of the Resisty around him."You've returned and..." he paused, looking down at the crouched, hissing figure that was Nix, "you brought a friend."

"Don't mind him, what's been going on?"

"St'lar hacked into the systems of worlds capable of star-travel. He's been sending out messages spelling our doom. His time to act is growing nearer. Thank the stars, you've returned. Zim told us everything, where is the egg?"

She bit her lip. "That's what I need to speak with you about. Y'see, the egg wasn't on Umber-"

"WHAT? !"

"But, I know where it could be!" she shouted over his outburst. "I found files of an unknown space-faring group who sold the egg as jewelry to the Coneheads. I need to speak with Shloonktapooxis, or anyone who you think might help."

"Trading with the Coneheads," he murmured. "Bring Shloonktapooxis here," he said to a young Vortian who happened to be passing by. Ria wanted to start her story, but chose instead to introduce Nix and what he was. Time was everything nowadays and she didn't want to waste any.

"Hi'ya!" Shloonktapooxis floated out from one of the branching tunnels to the small crowd at the screen. "Something 'bout jewelry?"

"I don't know if you had anything to do with this," said Ria, "but your species purchases jewelry from a roving space gang. Blue stones and one pink. Do you know anything about it?"

"Of course I do! The group who interacted with those guys said in their report that the pink ball tested high in starlight residue."

"Starlight residue?"

"Sort of like radiation," Lard Nar explained. "Except it doesn't do harm. Starlight residue meant that it came from space and crossed the stars. A meteorite would have starlight residue. The greater the travel, the higher the level."

"Yep!" said Shloonktapooxis. "It was so high in fact, the science team sent it to Treyos to get it tested."

"Treyos?" said Ria. "I've never heard of a planet called Treyos."

"That's no big surprise," Ixane stepped out from the shadows of a branching hallway. "Treyos was destroyed by the Irken Armada a long ago."

"Oh...I'm sorry."

"You should not be apologizing, comrade. You were not a member of the Armada, you didn't do the deed. The past can be forgiven. I am friends with you, yes?"

"Yes, we're friends, but what does that have to do with Treyos?"

"Because Treyos was my home planet." Ria felt like her antennae had been caught again. All sound cut out as she took in this realization. Ixane was her friend, and the Irkens had destroyed her planet. And the egg was on that planet.

"Oh no... no more leads." She hung her head. "I don't know what to do. The Zenza egg is probably obliterated and I-"

"Zenza?" said Ixane. "Hold on." She disappeared back into the hallway and reemerged with another member of her species, this one wearing a gray cloak. "She speaks of the Zenza."

"Zenza?" this one's voice was no more than a hiss and sounding vaguely masculine. "I have not heard that name in a long time. A story as old as the stars, speaking literally."

"What do you mean?" asked Ria.

"Let me just say this, comrade. Time, age, direction, they're all irrelevant. Anything's possible among the stars. And the Zenza keeps that balance throughout its life."

"Just the balance of life and death."

"Planets and stars can die," the male pointed out. "And they can be born. The Zenza recognizes us all as the same no matter where we come from, or what our species has done. But when that balance is in danger, the Zenza must act."

"But it didn't, it sent me on a wild goose chase for its egg!"

"What's a goose?" Lard Nar whispered.

"I believe the Zenza you met," the male continued, "has set up symbiosis between itself and you. I think it has been waiting for you and when you finally came to it, it sent you back. You are finding its egg, it provided you with the greatest power in the universe. Though, in the end, we may all perish, new life will spring among the stars as they themselves are reborn." He sighed and retreated back down the hallway, leaving the others dumbstruck at what he just said.

"I...um, I recall that some Vortians were on that science team," said Ixane. "Maybe we could speak with them."

"Better than nothing," said Ria. "Who were they?"

"I can only recall one...Vexer."

_Of course._

* * *

"This is different, it's a regular party in here." The Vortian was leant against the wall of his cell, arms crossed, staring at his new visitors. "St'lar escaped your grasp, but you managed to rescue Ezari."

"Yes," said Ria. "Now I have something else to ask of you. you were once on a science team on planet Treyos, investigating a small pink gem that tested high in starlight residue. Did that gem die in the explosion, or was it saved?"

Vexer grunted and shut his eyes. Agonizing moments of silence passed by until Nix growled in impatience. His role in life was to protect that egg, and this Vortian knew its location. "I remember," Vexer opened his eyes. "That gem tested higher than anything we'd ever seen. The Irken Empire was rising to power in Operation Impending Doom l, so we hid it away. We hid it...on planet Frigia."

"Oh," said Lard Nar. "Yes, I recall us Vortians keeping several storage facilities there. The entire planet is encased in ice and snow, so we knew the Irken Empire wouldn't want it. If that egg was in our possession in any way, then we would've taken it there."

"Egg?" said Vexer. "I thought it was a gem."

"No, my friend," said Ria, "you were in the presence of the egg of the Zenza."

The Vortian scoffed. "That story? Whatever happened to my words of wisdom before?"

"I rescued Ezzy already, and I still don't know where North is. But now we have the knowledge of the greatest weapon and I know for a fact that St'lar fears it. We find the egg, we find the key to ending this."

He paused for a long wile, scrutinizing her face. "Very well. Frigia, there lies your egg."

* * *

It was agreed that if St'lar could broadcast to all the planets, there was a chance he was monitoring as well. A huge fleet of ships leaving planet Vort would arouse suspicions. In the end, Ria, Nix, Xan, Ixane, and Lard Nar were the only ones to depart. Everything had to be done in secret. The ships were readied inside a bunker, all traveling was done in the Underground. The surface was deserted of all life.

Two ships, one being _Silverflash, _were ready for take off. Ria climbed into her cockpit, testing each control before take-off. There was the chance that they'd be attacked, so her weapons system was updated. She glanced upward and saw Nix crouched in the shadows of the bunker. His lips were moving and whenever they weren't, his face showed rapt attention.

"Nix!" she called, startling him. "Let's go!" The Irken male seemed slightly reluctant, but hurried over and climbed inside with Xan. He continued to pace inside the ship, knocking against walls and making noise. He ended up knocking down the medical kit and Ria had to place it back on the shelf. Right after she did so and returned to her chair, he settled.

"I'll lead the way," said Lard Nar through the communicator. "Frigia has been deserted for a long time and its orbit may have changed. We'll figure it out once we get close enough." The ship lifted off, leaving the surface of Vort behind in a few seconds. Ria gripped her controls tightly, golden eyes searching for any sign of attack.

"St'lar could be anywhere," she whispered. "Plotting, attacking, storing power-"

"I think you need to calm down."

The voice made her jump, in turn, causing her ship to come to a sudden halt. "Vexer! How did you get on my ship? !"

The Vortian chuckled and gestured to Nix. "Your wild friend here provided a distraction to allow me to slip in."

"When did he...the kit," she realized. The one moment she was not in the cockpit. "Well then, I take it you're helping us to find the egg?"

"Ria?" Lard Nar spoke through the communicator. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, but it appears Vexer has joined us." There was no response, she didn't expect one. "Let's go."

Frigia looked like no life could survive there at all. The entire planet was white with blue hints. A giant snowball in space. As soon as the ships dropped to near-surface, they were buffeted about in high speed winds. The engines groaned, but managed to get the vessels to touch done. Needles of frozen wind drove into their skins, painfully biting exposed faces. Cloaks were distributed with hoods and masks to cover up every piece of skin.

The storage facility looked almost like a door frame sitting in the middle of nowhere. Lard Nar and Vexer both unlocked the steel door, which exposed a staircase that descended straight down. It was no warmer in here than outside, but it was nice to be out of the wind. They went down further and further until reaching another steel door, this one secured with steel bars.

"Behind this door are items we hid from the Empire," said Vexer, unlatching each bar in a specific order. "And hopefully, your egg." As each bar was taken off the door and set against the wall, they were a bit closer to finding the egg. When the last one was down, Vexer pushed the door aside.


	20. Emptiness

Emptiness

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

The storage area was very narrow, but stretched so far back that Ria couldn't even see the end. Shelves stacked high up to the ceiling with strange objects. Some had fallen to the floor and shattered. A string of dim, flickering lights extended back to light the whole containment area. Somewhere in this mess was the Zenza egg.

"Well then," Vexer rubbed his hands together, "let's get started, shall we?" He and Lard Nar went to the left, while Ria and Ixane went right. Xan parked himself by the door, keeping watch for any sign of anything. Nix, however, was loping off down to the end of the storage container. His long antennae twitched repeatedly, his head swinging back and forth almost crashed into a robotic arm extending from a shelf. His senses were on high alert.

Ria would glance up every now and again to check that he was okay. The storage area stretched so far back and the shelves were overflowing. _St'lar, I just hope you don't have any big plans going on right now, 'cause we're not getting out of here anytime soon. _She lifted down a small box and eagerly opened it, only to reveal some microchips.

"I remember these!" Vexer held up a small gun, grinning like it was his favorite toy. "We used to use these all the time."

"What does it do?" Ria asked.

A green orb shoot from the gun, extending into a large bubble. It engulfed her, but she didn't feel anything. The Vortian stood there, a smug look on her face. She narrowed her eyes and stepped out of the bubble, only to be yanked backward.

"What-?" Ixane started.

"This is a weapon we developed to fight Irkens and their PAKs. Sucks to have your whole livelihood on your back, doesn't it?" He tossed the gun back on its shelf.

Ria pulled off her PAK and left it inside the bubble. "Can anyone access this place?"

"Pretty much."

"I saw coordinates of several storage planets, Meekrob, Vortian, and Irken, in St'lar's ship. If weapons designed specifically to fight Irkens are here-"

"Then he could have taken all that he wanted," Ixane finished. "We're running out of time, comrades."

"Hmmm," Lard Nar looked around the cramped space. His eyes caught sight of a camera. "Follow me." He led them down the container, feeling the wall as they went. Suddenly he stopped and yanked on a cord. Part of the shelf gave away, revealing a hidden room. "There's cameras in here, we can check if St'lar was here."

"Ria!" Nix barreled into them. Before she could get her bearings, Ria found herself being dragged toward the end of the container. Nix excitedly pointed to a small glass container. It was empty.

"Nix...I don't think-"

"Yes!" he insisted. "Yes!"

_If he's sure about this, then the egg was here. But now it's gone._ She reached out and opened the case. The inside was perfectly dished for an object that she estimated was exactly that of the egg. Empty, empty, empty, that word mocked her. They had no more leads. The egg was lost forever.

"Ria!" Ixane called from the opening to the hidden room. "I think you might want to see this!" Since she couldn't urge Nix to follow her, Ria returned to the others. A video was playing on the screen. Irkens, Irkens in Elite Guard uniforms were ransacking the container.

"Wait..." she studied the screen closely, "those two..." it hit her. Red and Purple were here when they were Irken Elite. She leaned out of the room, facing down to where Nix was waiting. She looked back at the video feed. "Can you focus?"

"This thing is archaic, but yes," said Lard Nar.

"Position it...forward, now to the right. Keep the footage playing, don't pause. Focus, focus." The moving figures of the past slowly came onto the screen. Purple and Red were laughing together as Red began taking random weapons. Purple suddenly stopped laughing and looked off to the side. He looked completely entranced by something. He reached out and took a small object off the shelf. "Focus!" Ria pleaded.

"We can't."

"Hang on, do the cameras still work?"

"Yes."

She dashed out and all the way down to where Nix was. "Show this feed on a second screen!" she called. "Am I in the exact same position as Purple?"

"Yes!" Ixane called back. Ria reached out and picked up the case once more. "You're doing the exact same thing."

_I don't believe it... _"In the video, what's Purple doing?"

"He fiddled with whatever he's holding," Vexer called out this time, "then put it back."

"Now fast forward slowly. Did anyone else mess with the object?"

"No!"

_Great Irk...Purple has the Zenza egg. He took it when he came here. The egg is on Irk. _"The egg is on Irk!"

* * *

Vexer and Lard Nar both fit the iron poles back into place on the door, then they all ascended the stairs together. The wind almost knocked them all over, but they didn't take notice. This may be the end of the hunt. If Purple still had the egg, then the Empire and Alliance was saved. They hadn't been down very long, but the ships were thoroughly coated in ice and snow.

"Help!" the yell sounded faintly over the roar of the wind. Then there came another sound. A loud wail...from Nix.

"Nix?" Ria tried to face into the snowy gust, but her eyes stung horribly and she was forced to turn away. "Nix, where are you?"

"_Daa-nua!_ _Daa-nua_!" he wailed repeatedly. Ria squinted her eyes and managed to make out dark shapes moving through the white haze. She followed as best she could into the full-on gust. Nix's accusations of an evil spirit was dead on.

"St'lar!" the Meekrob held Vexer suspended above their heads in a cage of psychic energy. "Release him!"

"Or else!" Lard Nar pulled out a small handgun. Xan leapt forward, a gun emerging from his beak.

"Do you really want to take the chance?" the Meekrob said over the roar. "I could strangle him without a second thought." Lard Nar reluctantly lowered the gun, Xan closed his beak. "That's better. Now here's what's going to happened, I'm going to destroy your ships, and you're going to freeze to death."

"And you think we'll just let you do that?" Ria snapped.

"That's the beauty of it, you _can't _do anything about it. The Empire will fall and the Meekrob Dynasty will rise as the supreme rulers of the space-faring species!"

Ria glanced to the side. St'lar was occupied with gloating and directing his attention at them. He didn't notice the dark shape crouching right beneath him. With a loud scream, Nix sprang straight up, used the suspended Vexer as a platform, and grabbed onto St'lar. The Meekrob dropped Vexer and began fighting wildly to shake the Irken clinging to what remained of his hood.

"Scratch out his eyes!" Vexer yelled.

The struggling bundle above them dipped and twirled in desperate maneuvers to throw off the assailant. Blood dripped onto the snow. Suddenly the shape plowed straight into the snow and reemerged as just St'lar. "Your 'protector' will be the third to die. Right after you and Tallest Zim." He vanished into the wind.

Nix groaned and rolled over, hissing in agony. His cloak had fallen off in the struggle, so his bare skin was in full contact with the frigid snow. He screamed in pain and yanked his hands against his chest. He reared back on his legs and began a shaky return to Ria. She pressed her warm hands against his, seeing his green skin had turned blue and had painful cracks that blood was seeping through. "Let's go!"

The cockpit to _Silverflash _stuck tight and it took all of them to pry it up. Ria, Xan, Nix, and Vexer slipped inside. Nix was laid out on the bunk, his frozen hands extended above him. A sudden warmth engulfed the ship and the snow covering the starshield melted away. "Wait!" Vexer approached the front.

A region of snow suddenly blasted into the air. A ship rose up from it. _St'lar? But...that ship's too small. If he's here, then his other ship is defenseless. _She fumbled for her communicator, but it started ringing in her hand. "Hello?"

"Ria!" it was Tak. "St'lar's ship has been sighted in the vicinity of Irk. It's heading right for us!"

Ria almost lost grasp of the communicator. St'lar was here, he had just left, in a different ship. Why was his true ship heading for Irk? "May day! May day! That ship is un-piloted! St'lar is not on board! Repeat! That ship has no pilot!" She threw down the communicator and forced _Silverflash _into the air. The ship shot out of the wind and back into the stars. St'lar was nowhere to be seen, but she doubted he was returning to his other ship.

Unless they acted quickly, Irk, its people, and the egg were going to be destroyed. The Massive was rooted down in port, but maybe it could pry itself up and make one last voyage. Whatever happened, she needed to go home. Her chase would end there. Hopefully, Purple still had the egg in his possession. How much time had passed since he found it? Maybe it had hatched already.

"How is he?" she asked Vexer.

"The skin of his hands is badly frost-bitten."

"But they were only in the snow for a few moments. Did it really work that fast?"

"Now you see why we chose that planet to hide our stuff."


	21. Purple's Treasure

Purple's Treasure

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

The smeets had been bustled into the nursery without any explanation. Now, as the whole planet was thrown into an uproar, they could only listen to what they could hear and guess to what was going on. The door was sealed shut and blocked out many of the sound waves. Neemi seemed to be the only one not curious as to what was happening. He just sat in the corner, staring at the wall.

"What'cha suppose they're doing?" said Piper, pressing her face flat against the door. "They sound excited...or scared."

"You're just hearing wrong," said Lexe, pushing his sister out of the way. "You're one or the other. You can't be both."

Ezzy just watched them. The scar, although hidden from their views and kept secret, had healed up very nicely. Truth was, a few Irken months had indeed passed since Ria left the planet. Enough that Purple and Yule's son, Fife, could be born. For once, they weren't the youngest in the Massive. The female smeet glanced to Neemi, who, as of late, had been as un-talkative as she was.

It became apparent since his birth that Neemi was not okay in the head. Those pale pearl eyes just looked right past you and into another dimension. He rarely spoke and it was usually cryptic in some way. He liked to sit and stare into nothingness and no matter what one did, he could't be roused. And that was the activity he was taking part in right now.

As the twins began fighting, Ezzy wandered to his side. He didn't notice, he didn't even acknowledge her presence. This was normal. He was whispering to himself. "The stars are not as old as they seem. By birth of Zenza, the age doth deem. Though in wisdom it does lack, watch it turn the old age back." Suddenly his head reared up, his pale eyes wide, the sheen gone, leaving them hollow. "Two minds, two minds, never in hold. The wild silver and courageous gold. Set a balance of our kind, those who were always free of mind."

That was how it was. It was cryptic and it rhymed...usually. He spoke with the strength of one far surpassing his own age and the few sights he'd seen. Yes...there was something very wrong with that smeet. Not even the Control Brains could fathom why. So they left him to his own devices and he appeared to function well. He wasn't a danger to society or himself, so he was not deemed Defective.

"I can't stand it!" Lexe roared. "Big things are happening and we're stuck in here."

"Here..." Neemi said in a misty voice, "here we are safe." The sheen had come back, but he still looked miles away. "Why leave? Our throats," he placed his hands on his neck and pointedly glance at Ezzy. Somehow, and they didn't know how, he knew what had happened. "Why go?"

" 'Cause interesting stuff is happening and we're not part of it!" said Piper. "We're busting outta here."

"By a knife, by a knife, lose yourself but save a life," Neemi muttered.

"How are we supposed to buy a knife, when we don't have any monies?" said Lexe. He began tossing things around, looking for whatever he had in mind to escape the room. He eventually held up a broken pointed object which, in the past, might have been part of some stacking toys. He jabbed it into the slit in the door and began tugging hard. When it seemed it would snap and send him flying, the door slid open and freed them all. "C'mon, let's see what's happening."

"Surely...not you?" Neemi whispered to Ezzy.

The female smeet had her feet planted firmly on the floor, but upon seeing Lexe and Piper exit the room, she instinctively began to follow. Neemi was left with his final choice. In the end, he went after them. The halls were surprisingly empty, but that was due to the fact that war meetings were being held in the cafeteria, the only place big enough to fit all the Irkens pouring in. The smeets didn't know much of the Massive, but they wanted a good vantage point. Thus, they headed upward.

The bridge was barren. Now that was weird in their minds. But, that just meant that there was no one to scold them. So the smeets went about exploring on their own. Every button was pressed, every chair sat on, and it wasn't until the whole bridge was searched that the three noticed Neemi.

He stood in front of the large screen, his pearl eyes wide as he stared at the image of a strange ship. The ship was directed at a planet and by the sight of flames erupting at the sides, he figured it was plummeting down. Only question was, what planet was this? He didn't say anything, just continued staring at the screen. Then he nodded.

"What? You know something we don't know?" asked Piper.

"Fire," Neemi pointed at the screen. "Fire all around. That is us."

Lexe rushed to the nearest clear window. "We're still on the ground. That can't be the Massive."

"That is us," Neemi repeated.

Ezzy studied the screen and immediately realized what he meant. The ship wasn't them, the planet was. That ship was going to crash into them. She began illustrating this point as best she could. Piper and Lexe finally got the message when she slapped her hand against her closed fist and made an exploding gesture.

"We're all gonna die!" Lexe screamed.

* * *

The smeets would not be discovered until later, for the cafeteria was soon barren as well once _Silverflash _touched down in the gardens. Every Irken in the area dropped everything and raced out to the landing spot to welcome back the Empire's hero. But Ria was in no mood for a welcoming. No, Nix's hands were in horrible shape and she practically tore into anyone who so much as tried to touch him.

"Get back! Stay away! You're scaring him! He doesn't know what's going on!" she spat as the crowd closed inward. Nix released loud hisses and wails as dozens of hands reached out to touch him, but even his animalistic tendencies couldn't halt them. "Get back! All of you!"

Only the quick arrival of Red and Zim saved the crowd from being ripped to shreds by Nix in his mode of fear. Red skillfully scooped up Ria and tossed her through the air to Zim, who delivered her to the edge of the crowd. Then they both did the same to Nix, who was obviously not happy with these arrangements. Ixane, Lard Nar, Vexer, and Xan had to make it out on their own, which wasn't hard as the crowd dissipated once Ria was out.

"I've come to realize I don't like attention," the golden eyed female panted, leaning against the sealed main door of the Massive that kept the crowd out. "After so long among the Umberene people and my own thoughts, that display right there just freaked me out. Who'd a thought we'd ever be affectionate?"

"Yes-yes," said Zim, "now who's this?" He gestured to the spitting and hissing mass that was Nix.

"He is my kind," she replied bluntly. "Now we've got to move. St'lar's unmanned ship is on a crash course with our planet, and probably specifically the Massive."

"Yes, but your whole side mission was to find the Zenza and get us saved," said Red. "So what's _your _plan?"

"You doubt me and that rattles my wires," Ria pushed him aside and started walking. "Where is your brother?"

"Purple? I don't know. What's he got to do with this? I can help you! Why do you need him?"

"Touchy, tsk tsk. Your brother possesses something of great importance. Something that will literally save our asses from burning to a crisp. Your brother has the Zenza egg."

* * *

"Maybe this," Piper began pressing any button she chose, hoping it would do something to the ship barreling down at them. The flames erupted even larger on the image's sides and the planet grew ever closer. Now they could see several Irken ships swarming around, but they were no match for the larger ship, their weapons barely making a scratch. The Massive kept repeating the orders they gave. Lights flashed, weapons hummed, something blew up.

"What's going on?" Due to having only one arm, Purple could only pick up one smeet at a time. He chose Piper since she was the most animated about the pressing of buttons. "You shouldn't be in here."

"But the ship's coming right at us!" Lexe pointed at the screen.

"We know and we're doing all we can to stop it. But you're not helping."

A loud bang made them turn. The door slid open and Ria leapt into the bridge, followed by her band, as well as Tak, Tenn, Zee, and Skoodge, who they collected along the way. "Purple! You have held the key for many years and never knew! When you and Red were Elites, you did a raid at Frigia and you took something for yourself."

"I did?" He looked thoughtful. "Yeah...I did. A little pink ball. I don't know why I did, but I wanted it. So yeah, I stole it."

"Great! Where is it?"

The silence was enough to stab fear into her heart. Purple stared blankly at her as he traced his steps back for years. Finally, he closed his eyes and shook his head. "I don't have it anymore. I lost it."

Ria tried to make a sound. A sob, a roar, a gasp, anything. She couldn't. This was the end, there was no more. "When did...you lose it?"

"After the ceremony assigning Invaders to their planets at the beginning of Operation Impending Doom ll. It was in my pocket, then it wasn't."

Ezzy wandered off while the grown-ups were quiet. She looked up to the screen, at the ship that would take them to their doom. A large flashing button under a word screen caught her attention. She watched it flash a few times, then reach out and pressed it. The Massive shuddered and the boom of the laser firing straight upward knocked everyone off their feet.

* * *

"Whoa!" Exel helped Yule steady herself. The female gasped and clutched Fife as the ship rumbled and shook. "That was weird. GIR! Are you messing around again?"

The SIR unit peered around the corner at them, MiMi standing behind him. "No, I was with the ladle and cheese pot."

"He was in the kitchen," Yule translated. "Something's happening, something...maybe good. The ship isn't falling apart, so the shot must have come from us. Let's hurry to the bridge. C'mon GIR, MiMi."


	22. The Blessing of the Zenza

The Blessing of the Zenza

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

The laser that erupted from the Massive streamed into the sky as a tremendous pillar of energy. It sped upward further and further, never losing momentum or power. It hit the heart of St'lar's ship, obliterating it and abruptly ending its crash course. Ezzy, by being curious about a flashing button, had saved them all. And when the initial shock of what just happened faded off, Ria found the news of the lost egg not so hard to bear.

"We are out of the danger zone for now, so we think up a strategy. We don't need the egg." It was simple in her mind. They would scour the universe to find the Meekrob who dared threaten the Alliance. They had the resources to do it.

"That's not the point," said Red. "St'lar is only growing stronger. The power of the universe can stop him, the power of the Zenza."

"I don't care! Sure, the legend is actually true, but why should we put all of our faith in it? We're an advanced civilization, we shouldn't need these fables..." She sank to the floor, her antennae dragging. "I...I've given up hope."

"You can't do that," said Tak. "You're the only one that can't do that. You were the beacon of light in a very dark time. We looked to you, you can't give up."

"It's the end of the line! Purple doesn't have the egg. I have no more leads. There's nothing more I can do."

" 'Look to the North'," said Vexer.

"I still don't know what it means."

The bridge doors slid open as Exel, Yule, GIR, and MiMi came through. They all looked thoroughly spooked from the tremor, but were relieved to see everyone was okay. Purple suddenly grew very thoughtful as they approached. His PAK began searching further into his sub-conscience. Why was this important? This moment of clarity? The universe was telling him something. The screen began an emergency warning. Still that could not tear Purple away from his thoughts.

"An incredible power source is growing more and more in deep space," Miyuki's voice echoed around them. "In dangerous proportions."

"How bad?" Zim asked.

"Enough to destroy a planet."

"This is it," Ria stood back up. "This is his plan, he's going to kill us." Nix growled and struggled to his feet to stand beside her. "Where is the power source located?"

"Polaris."

Reality hit Ria harder than a slap to the face. Polaris...more commonly known as the North Star. " 'Look to the North'," she whispered, "'there lies the power'. St'lar is harnessing pure starlight power. His ship on a crash course was just a diversion, collateral damage to keep us busy as he obliterated the entire planet. This is it, this is the end."

"Wait!" Purple reached out and grabbed GIR. "I remember!" Without warning, he began slamming the SIR unit against the wall. He didn't seem to mind, in fact he was giggling.

"What are you doing?" said Yule.

"That day at the Assignment Ceremony, I dropped a whole bunch of pocket junk in GIR's head," Purple explained. "I remember, one was the little pink ball. The egg has been in GIR's head the entire time!"

Ria snagged the SIR unit herself and ruthlessly banged him against the floor. The top of his canister head popped off and something started to come out, but it was too big. The robot's head always did have a hammerspace effect, so this actually made sense. She kept hitting him against the floor until it popped out. The Zenza egg in all its splendor. No longer was it a small ball that could fit in her palm, no, it had grown as large as the smeets, explaining why it wouldn't come out so easily.

"Behold, the egg of the Zenza," Ria hoisted it into her arms and almost dropped it. It was warm and the surface didn't feel like shell. It felt softer, like skin. "This is the weapon to save the Alliance."

"Well," Zim stood before the main control panel of the Massive, "I think this ship's got one more good adventure left in it. Brace yourselves, we're taking the Massive into space!"

In all reality, the ship had not been in port for very long. It was very well-maintained, but never did they think it would need to be used again. Despite years of disuse, the engines fired up nicely. The Massive lifted away from Irk's surface, leaving the gardens down below. As it sped upward to the sky, the Armada joined it; however, this time, it was to save the planet and their Alliance.

The Control Brains knew what was taking place. They could feel all of the PAK signatures leaving the planet and it pained a few of them. After so long with not ruling Irk's fate, they'd grown to appreciate contact from the normal Irkens. To feel the people leave them was hard and there was no way they could even help.

Ria stood strong, the egg held tight in her grasp. It pulsed like a heartbeat, like a living thing itself. It made her uncomfortable. But this was the thing that would save her people. The long search had brought her here, to this exact moment. Suddenly, the egg rippled, its soft material moving in a wave.

With a shriek of surprise, Ria dropped it, drawing the attention of everyone else. The egg began to roll with the rocking of the ship, but suddenly righted itself in a straight unnatural pose. Nix hissed and rushed behind Ria, frightened of what was happening. The egg rippled once more, then the sheen faded. It was still bright pink, but it reflected no light.

* * *

The Zenza raised its head. It knew what was coming. It knew this moment was going to happen since the beginning. So it waited, it waited for Ria. It knew she would come. This was foreseen and now it could let go. The egg was the weapon, the egg was the beacon of light.

Ria was the savior.

* * *

The egg rippled once more, more violently. Then it began to tremble. The pink faded drastically to dull black. Ria felt a sudden pain in her chest, so intense that she clutched at her ribs. It hurt horribly. She looked around, but no one else looked in pain. The egg shuddered and turned another shade darker, and the pain increased.

As another shade passed, Ria collapsed to her knees, her claws piercing through her clothing and into her skin. Nix stopped hiding and was by her side immediately. Another shade and a scream was ripped from her throat. Suddenly the egg stopped trembling. A seam appeared down the middle, then peeled away, revealing the top layer to be two large wings. The rest of the mass uncurled slowly. A head with folded ears, six tucked legs, and two folded smaller wings.

Ria tried to breathe evenly, but the pain wouldn't fade away. The small creature didn't move, it was like it wasn't even alive. But the moment its four eyes peeled open to see its first glimpse of the universe, a white-hot sword pierced Ria's chest. Even above her scream, the yells of everyone else, she could hear it. A voice in her head...

_I waited for you_

* * *

The Zenza inhaled deeply. It was done. As the new Zenza took its first breath, the old one took its last. This was how it was meant to be. All it could do was wait for Ria, and when she came, the events were set in motion. This was the way of things. Although the new Zenza had been awakened in a time of turmoil, there was no doubt in the old one's mind that everything would soon be balanced once more. With a sigh to be the exhale of its last breath, the Zenza deflated its chest, shut it eyes...

...and died.

* * *

Her entire body was in a fire of agony. Something deep inside was dying and she feared the pain of it would kill her. Her screams echoed around the bridge, terrifying the others with the added knowledge that they had no idea what was happening to her. Her body writhed in pain, her claws digging into the floor.

Then it stopped.

Ria's golden eyes opened to the face of the new Zenza. Its blue tongue had just licked her face, then the pain ceased. The memory of it would haunt her for the rest of her days, but for now, she was completely unaware of what was behind it. "Zenza..."

"Ria," Tak moved forward, "there's something on your forehead. A blue marking."

The young Irken rose unsteadily to her feet and rushed to a blank monitor. Sure enough, a wide arch was painted across her forehead, the two pointed ends curving around the outsides of her eyes. She reached up to touch it. Horror wrenched inside her chest once more. It was _engraved _in her skin. "Was this the pain?"

"It didn't appear until the Zenza licked you," said Red. " 'Its whiskers to place a blessing or curse'."

"I guess 'whiskers' sounded better than tongue," said Tak.

Ria ran her fingers across the marking. "I don't understand. What does this mean?" Alarms began to blare loudly of danger. Their attention drew away from Ria's newest accessory and to the matter at hand. They were approaching Polaris and the gravitational pull was incredible. Memories passed through Ria's mind of the comets whizzing past her ship.

"He's not just using starlight power," she realized, "he's using the power of the comets collected around Polaris."

At that moment, a floating mass appeared above the star. But before any good analysis could be made, a beam of light poured from it and obliterated a good portion of the Armada. Their wasn't even any debris. The ships, and their pilots, vanished.

"Great Irk," Zim whispered. "That's unlike anything I've ever seen."

"No civilization has ever been able to harness pure starlight power," said Vexer. "St'lar is the first, let's make sure he's the last."


	23. Shattered

Shattered

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

The Armada, enraged by a good portion's sudden destruction, surged forward to blast at the space station. Soon lasers and beams were coming from all directions, and disappearing as pillars of light erupted from the station and obliterated them all. Hundreds of Irken lives vanished in the Control Brains' consciences.

Ria, despite the spasms of pain still coursing through her body, was immediately set her quest. She'd gone across the universe, even beyond it, and now the moment of truth. She didn't know what the baby Zenza could do, or if it even knew what it was meant to do. Either way, she was getting and ship and going aboard the station. She would kill St'lar herself. Then they'd set up a fireworks display in the universe of that station.

But as she turned and started off toward the closest dock, she noticed three figures following close behind. One was Xan, no surprise, another was Nix, she still wasn't fazed by his presence, but the third was the baby Zenza, its split tail wagging eagerly. "Whatever you're going to do, I suggest you do it before we're all destroyed," she told it.

"You're not going out there," Red stepped in the way of her path.

"Move it or I'll sic my robot on you," she replied grimly. She knew what she was doing and no one was going to get in her way. For the good of Irk and the Alliance, she was going out there. Red, hesitated momentarily, but did step aside and let the four of them pass. _Silverflash _was left on Irk, but any one of these battleships would do in a pinch. As her new vehicle was chosen, she noticed that someone else had followed.

"You're not doing anything concerning that floating phlegm without me," Vexer snapped as he chose his own spacecraft. "I have a score to settle."

"So do I. Let's settle on this: whoever gets there first gets to kill him."

"Deal."

The two ships exited the docking bay and flew directly at the space station. The few ships left of the Armada had retreated. There wasn't even any debris from the destroyed ones, it had all been vaporized. When no lasers appeared to decimate them, Ria was not surprised. St'lar wanted to end this as much as she did, but he wanted to go out in style. He wanted to announce to the universe that he was the destroyer of the Empire's Hero.

The two ships docked into the station without any interruptions. They didn't expect any. But as soon as they disembarked, they were on high alert. This was enemy territory; and though there was only one enemy, he had harnessed the power to destroy them all. The only question was, is he going to use it now, or come and find them first?

They crept as a group through the halls. This whole place was designed unlike anything they'd ever seen. Even the halls of the Massive had developed a homey feeling to Ria, but these halls were blinding sterile white. It was almost like they were dead. A deep hum reverberated around them, making the floor tremble.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" St'lar floated at the split in the hallway. "I'm glad you decided to come and witness the end of the Alliance and the Irken Empire. The Meekrob Dynasty will rise from the destruction and rule the universe."

"Frith'gen won't allow it," said Ria.

"Well, she's not feeling too good these days. Who's to say a simple psychic strike to the chest won't come her way?"

"You would kill your leader to vanquish your planet's allies?" said Vexer.

"The Irken Empire will never be our allies! Vexer, I am willing to welcome you into the new Rule, the Vortian Realm will be our most trusted comrades when the Massive falls to Irk and I destroy this nightmare that has befallen us!" Nix let out a screaming shriek and charged at the Meekrob. St'lar didn't move at all as a psychic shield slammed into the silver-eyed Irken and knocked him back.

St'lar vanished from their sight while Nix got back to his feet. The humming got louder and the floor rolled dangerously. The group rushed toward the split in the hall, desperate to find someplace that was safe in the station. The humming could only mean one thing. The power was building up. And there was only one object that he could hit without moving the station. He was aiming for the Massive.

The Zenza trotted along like this was a stroll in the gardens. It didn't seem to mind or even notice the danger that was imminent. It wasn't until they passed an air lock that it took any notice. While the others looked around, it pawed at the handle until it snapped open and shut, sucking it out into space.

"Great Irk!" Ria threw herself upon the door. "We just lost the Zenza."

"It'll be fine," Vexer pulled her off the air lock. "We need to focus on stopping this machine. St'lar's charging the power." Though extremely reluctantly, Ria went with him and they continued onward inside the station. Could the Zenza even survive in the cold vacuum of space? She convinced herself yes just to calm down. But whether or not the infant creature was frozen in death with its four eyes hanging out of their sockets was not her problem.

They navigated through the halls, becoming enraged when they hit dead ends or downward ladders. This place was obviously arranged to confuse any trespassers. Right now, it was their downfall as they desperately seeked the control center. The Massive would easily be destroyed by this station. No race had ever needed to protect their ships from starlight power. It had never been harnessed before.

A wide door waited at the end of their hall. Could it be? The slightest chance? Xan barreled toward it, smashing his metal body into it. The dent was large enough that it opened on the other side and they could crawl through. St'lar was waiting for them, casually floating above the weapon control panel, a gun of some kind in his tendril.

"When will you see that your actions are useless?" He began pressing some of the buttons, tall light panels near the wide window lighting up as the power charged. They could see everything out that window. The Massive hovering nearby, its lasers doing no damage at all. The rest of the Armada whizzing about to avoid being decimated. The comets twirling overhead the station.

"We will stop you!" Ria shouted. "Good always triumphs!"

"This isn't a movie, it's real. And in real life, shit happens. Besides, when all of this began, even before your birth, the Irkens were the bad guys. So how am I evil for wanting revenge on what happened in the past?"

"The past can be forgiven," said Vexer. "I forgave the Irkens and so did my planet. They are our allies now and if you destroy them," he pulled his own gun from his belt and pointed it at the Meekrob, "I will make you pay."

There were four prongs, one at each corner of the window, on the outside of the station. Each one began to light up and a ball of light appeared at the ends. "This is the strongest weapon on the station," St'lar explained. "Straight from the core of Polaris. It was destroy the Massive and everything on it. Then, it'll destroy Irk."

He turned to face the window, exposing his back. But they knew that he could still sense them. If they attacked, he'd deflect. The orbs of light grew stronger and began to meld together into one single beam at the center. Ria grit her teeth and couldn't hold back any longer. She charged forward with Nix loping after her. St'lar turned and reflected with a psychic shield, but the two Irkens continued striking at him. That seemed to do the trick since his expression began to turn to slight fear. In the window, the Massive began to slowly back away at the sight of the laser.

With the Meekrob preoccupied, Vexer hurried to the weapon panel to turn off the laser. He tested several buttons, aiming into deep space in case they set off a gun of some sort. Nothing was proving fruitful and Ria and Nix were tiring. He growled and pressed his gun barrel into the panel, firing three times and then some until it expelled smoke.

"No!" St'lar shoved the two Irkens aside and returned to the panel, blasting Vexer aside with his gun. The Vortian skidded on his back, hissing in pain from the wound. "You think I'm a fool?" St'lar snapped. "This was just the easiest way to do it. I can force these weapons with my powers." As he said this, the beams continued to connect, their streams growing more and more solid and bright.

A flash blinded them all and Ria feared seeing nothing in the Massive's place. But when sight returned, they were greeted by a whole fleet Meekrob ships. They swarmed the station on all sides and began firing away. The station rocked and rumbled as it was slowly torn apart. "Those are what allies are. They come to your aid."

"St'lar!" Dev'yin's voice echoed all around them. "You are hereby under arrest for your crimes against the Alliance. You are ordered to un-arm your station and concede to your arrest."

As St'lar's tendrils waved in the air, proof that he was NOT following Dev'yin's orders, another nasty scare made them jump. With a loud thump, the infant Zenza landed on the window, passing through the beam without harm. It looked overjoyed to see Ria inside, licking the window with its tongue and wagging its split tail. Space seemed to have no effect on it.

The beam collected together and aimed toward the Massive. At this point, the Zenza was upset that it couldn't get to Ria, its mood displayed when it turned on the beam. Its four wings spread wide, lifting it off the window. It went inside the beam and somehow detonated the whole thing. The energy dissipated and faded, leaving only the baby to once again scramble to get inside.

St'lar stared in horror at the baby. "It...it stopped my laser."

Seeing a chance to gain the upper hand, Ria spoke up, "Yeah, now look. The Zenza trying to get inside. It wants _you, _look at its eyes, that desperation. It wants to kill you." His tattered hood shuddered in fear. In Ria's eyes, the Zenza was completely harmless, but she wasn't going to let up. "You destroyed the Balance of the universe, in order to fix it, it has to destroy you."

All of a sudden, the window split as the Zenza rammed its head forward. The vacuum of space sucked them toward it, causing them to cling to one another. St'lar wound himself around a pipe, while the others held on to one of the panels. The Zenza happily hopped inside, striding right over to Ria and happily sitting down. The vacuum had no effect on it.

"Save us!" she screamed, hoping to Irk that it understood the urgency and the fact that they couldn't survive like it could. "Save us! Take us there!" she braved the vacuum and pointed to the Massive. "Take us!"

The Zenza licked her forehead again. Ria shut her eyes and screamed, a sound that was lost in the vacuum. Then it stopped. They grunted as their bodies made contact with a hard floor. Ria opened her eyes again to see they had indeed been saved. They were in the cafeteria of the Massive. _All _of them.

"Get him!" But St'lar recovered faster than they did and disappeared. "We have to get to the bridge! We can run an organism scan and corner him."

* * *

Yule heard the cries of those they thought to be on the station. Their cries were what drew her toward them. But as she entered the cafeteria, Fife in her arms, they had already gone. But one remained behind and now his attention was focused on her. Yule felt the stinging pain in her back, yet managed to instinctively clutch her son tightly as she fell to her knees.

"I'll be taking this," St'lar drew his tendrils around Fife, the smeet looking up at him with terrified purple eyes. "One baby for the destruction of another. The Zenza must die as well as your hero." Then he vanished.

"No!" she screamed, scrambling to her feet and taking off down a random hall. She didn't know which was he had taken, but there was no doubt in her mind that he would head for the bridge. He had to make his threat known.

A yell turned her to a different hallway. Screaming, crying, scuffling sounds. A fight. Two people were fighting and judging by the sudden screech of pain, one lost. She skidded to a halt, taking in the scene before her. Red was splayed out in this hall, a pool of blood emptying from his body via a hole in his side. His eyes had gone hazy and his fingers and legs twitched uncontrollably.

"Red..." Yule dropped to her knees.

"St'lar...St'lar has him," Red gasped. "He has Fife. I...I tried...I failed. I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

* * *

There no need for that organism scan. Once Ria and the others burst into the bridge, they were met face to face with their assailant. St'lar held Fife tightly in his few tendrils, slowly choking the smeet who gasped out his cries. "If you want this roach back, you kill the Zenza."

Everyone else on the bridge had a hand on some sort of weapon, whether it was a gun or just a broken pipe. They wanted to attack, but the threat was too strong. Fife would be killed if any of them made a move. Ria looked to her side, seeing the infant Zenza. Its mood had changed considerably. It looked at St'lar with an intense hatred that she thought wasn't even possible on such a friendly creature.

_Because you hate him, _said a voice in her head. _Your hatred is the fuel._

"Zenza," she said quietly, "this Meekrob needs to die. He will only keep attacking the Alliance. He will hurt innocent young, he will destroy entire planets, all to make sure that we fall. He corrupted the Balance, it is your job to keep it."

The Zenza spread its wings once more, stretching them high over its head. An explosion shook the ship, but it wasn't in the ship. Everyone's attention was temporarily diverted to the outside. Polaris had vanished, the station was ripped apart and disappeared. A black hole had sprung up from where the star and station had stood, larger and more menacing than any black hole that had ever been seen. To their horror the comets were sucked in as well and fleets of ships were starting to spin in the vortex.

_It has begun, _said the voice. _To purify what has been corrupted. The Birth, the end of the universe._


	24. Falling Stars

Falling Stars

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

"Stop!" Ria screamed, yanking the Zenza's ears. "Don't do this! This isn't meant to happen!"

"What's going on?" Zim demanded. The Massive groaned loudly as it was pulled into the powerful vortex. Forgetting his question, Zim began working the boosters to fly them away from the pull. Their communicators were filled with the screams of Meekrobs as they vanished into the vortex. St'lar even dropped his guard to listen in horror as his kin were destroyed.

Ria couldn't recall hearing of _this. _The ending of the Zenza poem spoke of restoring the balance, restoring everything they knew. But that was all being destroyed. The universe was being sucked into the black-hole and this was no bomb. Nothing would be transported away, it would all vanish into nothingness. This wasn't meant to happen. Something like this would have sprung up in the lines of the poem...wouldn't it?

Both Zim and Tak began working the ship, forcing the vessel to give it its all to escape. The others broken out of their stupor and charged at their enemy. St'lar snapped back to reality, but not in time to keep his victim. Fife was pried out of his grip and thrust into Exel's for now, the smeet attendant wrapping his jacket around the little Irken and pulling away with Purple as back-up.

_'For the watcher of all will find balance again.' _A horrifying thought passed through Ria's mind in that moment. _The only way to balance the corrupted...one must destroy what has been corrupted. _Starlight power was not meant to be wielded it seemed. A star's power had been abused and used against alien races. The Zenza didn't care about the Alliance, or Irk, Vort, and Meekrob, it didn't see them any different from all the other species in the stars.

But a voice, different from the one before, spoke up. It was a memory of not-too-long-ago, when she had returned to the Alliance and landed on Vort. Everyone had been sheltered beneath the surface and Ixane had brought forth the elder of her species. What did he say? _'Though, in the end, we may all perish, new life will spring among the stars as they themselves are reborn.' He _knew this was going to happen.

"The stars are reborn," she whispered. Now was the time to act. If they all were going to die, it was to be on even grounds. She would complete what was started when she was a smeet long ago. St'lar rose as the enemy, now he would die as it. Nix crouched at her side, his silver eyes flashing in excitement and his mouth opening slightly to show his teeth. He would go to the end with her.

The two Auto-Defects leaped together at their mortal foe, their combined weight taking him by surprise and slamming him to the floor with them on top. Nix raked the remains of his hood to shreds with his claws while Ria went for his eyes. A psychic blast threw them away and across the bridge, allowing St'lar to rise. Without that menacing hood, the remainder of his body was pathetically small. Such a feared foe, reduced to this.

Without his sight, bloody rivulets running down his face, he was forced to rely on his psychic abilities. The stress and panic threw his senses off and began to fire psychic blasts around wildly. Everyone panicked and raced for cover. Skoodge was hit in the leg, sliding underneath a panel to hide. The smeets each tipped a chair over to crouch behind. A single blast shot across the bridge and struck Zim in the back of the head, his body slumping forward onto the button panel.

The magenta Tallest's head hit a single button as it fell. Alarms blared loudly and Ria had a short flashback to moments ago, back in St'lar's station. The front window of the bridge slid open, drawing everything around inside to the vacuum of space and ever closer to the black hole.

"Brace yourselves!" Tak cried over the rush of sound. Everyone clung tightly to whatever they could find. Several voices screamed in fear at the prospect of being pulled into space. It was strange, they were going to die anyway by the power of the black hole. But it seemed it was better to die in the company of loved ones.

St'lar, still blind to everything around him, began moving forward to avoid the suction. By chance, his spindly little arms found Ria's leg, who was clinging to one of the Tallest chairs in the center of the bridge. His fingers wound tight, allowing him to slowly climb up her body to her hands. She tried to bite him as he passed over his head, but the sudden loosening of her fingers made her panic. She lost her grip and flew toward the open window.

Her whole body was jarred as she was caught. Nix held tight to her legs, his own legs being held by Xan, who was clinging to the other Tallest chair. Their small chain waved in the suction, the only thing keeping them from mortal doom being Xan's steel claws. St'lar saw this and tried to jump over, but the suction caught him and he flew forward, grabbing onto Ria's dead antennae.

The golden eyed Irken looked upward, staring into the bloody and scarred face of her enemy. Despite his sightless eyes, she could see the full expression of fear on his face. He didn't want to die, like any sane creature. They all yearned for life, but what he had done was unforgivable. He deserved to die.

Ria tried to unhook his thin fingers from her antennae, but he held fast and strong. She grimaced at what she realized she had to do. She pulled the antenna that he was latched to closer to her face, bending it toward her mouth. Her teeth clamped down as near to the dead nerves as she could get, but it still wasn't close enough. Agony shoot through her body as she sawed away at her own antenna.

The Zenza suddenly sat up from its stupor, noticing the living chain of organisms trying their best to escape death. It stared directly at Ria sacrificing her own being to rid the universe of St'lar. The baby's tongue flicked out of its mouth, its whiskers twitching in anticipation. A hand grasped onto its split tail, seeing as how it was the only thing not affected by the pull.

"Hey St'lar!" Ria halted in her self-mutilation and turned her head to see who had spoken. Vexer clung tightly to the Zenza's hindquarters, a single plasma pistol aimed directly at them. "I told you I'd make you pay!" A single shot escaped the gun and flew across the bridge as blur of light. It hit the Meekrob directly, finally breaking his grip and sending him plummeting to his death. As soon as he was past the window, the Zenza sprung into action, leaping to the button panel that Tak and the barely-conscious Zim were holding to. Its muzzle pressed the right button and the window shut tight, dropping Ria, Nix, and Xan to the floor.

"Well, that's all good and such," Exel emerged with Fife still wrapped in his jacket, "but we're still going to die."

"Zenza," Ria spoke up, drawing the infant's attention, "you can't do this. He's gone now, so stop the black hole." The baby squeaked softly and sat down, completely calm despite the fact that it was about to destroy everything. In that split second, Ria felt an immense pressure on her head. Not like something was pressing on it, but like some hand of a sort was reaching through her skull. It wasn't comfortable...but it wasn't unpleasant.

* * *

Ixane, along with all the others sheltered in the Vort Underground, watched the screen in horror. Video feed from a Vortian ship showed the black hole and the small body of St'lar flying out of the Massive. He was vanquished, but the pull was too great and, within hours, they would be pulled from Vort's orbit and thrust into the black hole. Mothers hugged children, people wept loudly, complete strangers huddled in masses for comfort.

"Ahhh," the elder of Ixane's species sighed in contentment despite what was happening around them. His entire body, stiff from old age, loosened and went limp. He kneeled down, his hood falling from his head. Ixane gasped and tried to replace the hood, but something stopped her. A wide blue arch, wrinkled in age, decorated the elder's forehead. It seemed to pulsate lightly and suddenly, after seeing it flash, she felt all horror and fear escape her body.

"What is it?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"The Birth," he replied. "When all that has been corrupted is cleansed, it will rise anew and pure. But that which was never corrupted, shall remain for the next to reign."

"What does that mean? How do you know this?"

"Long ago, I sat at the foot of the Zenza, I heard and saw its wisdom. The Birth brings fear, but the Blessed will calm that fear." He stood back up, no aching or popping joints, and placed his hands along the arch. "There exist but a few, but from where they come from, is blessed to survive the cleansing. Treyos is gone, but since I am here, this planet will not be destroyed."

"Whoever has that marking saves their planet?"

"Correct, and by judging from the old pain in my chest, the elder Zenza has died and the Empire's Hero is among the Blessed."

* * *

There was nothing they could do except brace themselves. Some Meekrob and Vortian ships had managed to escape for now, but the vortex would get them in the end, it would get them all. All they could do was hug each other, doing their best to comfort the fears that rose from within of their imminent death.

Ria stood right at the window, choosing to be the first to pass through. She had caused this, she had caused the destruction of the universe, and the Zenza sat there completely oblivious to all. It would probably survive was why it didn't seem to care. It would live and they would all die. She wanted to scream at it. Even worse, she wanted to kill it.

The time was here, the front of the Massive entered the black hole and Ria felt herself engulfed by the strange sensation. No one knew what it was like to go through an actual black hole, but she always thought it would be extremely painful. This feeling though...it was wonderful. All the troubles had lifted from her shoulders.

The entire shipped entered the vortex, greeted by nothing but complete darkness, but they were still alive. There were no stars, no planets, not even the other ships. It was like the edge and, for a split second, Ria thought maybe they had just been transported there and there was a chance they could still go home. No one said anything, no one made a sound, and then it happened.

A tremendous explosion flipped the Massive into several somersaults. Once the ship evened out, an event that none of them had ever witnessed, and never should have witnessed, unfolded before. Millions upon millions of stars exploded and shot off into the darkness. Planets sprang forth from the central point and spread further and further until they could not be seen anymore. This had happened once before.

"The Big Bang," said Tak, completely in awe. "This is what started the universe."

"The stars themselves are reborn," Ria whispered. "The universe wasn't destroyed, it was restarted. The destruction of the old gives way to the new." The happiness that bubbled in her chest deflated immediately. _They _were alive, but nothing else was. Everything was restarting. Irk, Vort, and Meekrob would be nothing but primitive planets, devoid of intelligent life. They couldn't go home. Nothing they had known would be there anymore.

A faint ringing made her antennae twitched, but she only deduced that it was the damage her teeth had done. But everyone heard it and turned to the communicator screen. Someone was calling them, someone was alive. "Comrades!" Ixane's body appeared on screen. "We are alive! We saw everything! Our organism scans show that all surrounding planets still obtain life, life that will evolve back to what it was! It's a new universe!"

"How...?" was all Zim could say.

"That-the blue thing-Ria, your head. You have been blessed by the Zenza, you were chosen to survive to the next reign, that of the new Zenza! My elder is a Blessed as well! Vort is saved."

"What about Meekrob?" Purple asked. "What happened to their planet?"

Ixane's excitement died in an instant. "It...it has converted back. Everything they had is lost." Ria looked out the window, seeing the Meekrob and Vortian ships that had been invisible a second ago. She ran an organism scan, relieved to find out that everyone on board these ships were still alive. The species wouldn't die, they had to rebuild their home.

"I guess Ms. Bitters was right," Dib voiced his thoughts out loud.

"What are you talking about?" said Zim.

"Remember your first day in class? The lesson was about the universe and how it would eventually implode in on itself."

"I hope to high Irk that she didn't survive."

They had survived and so had their planet. They could go home and continue their lives. Ria couldn't help but look forward to humdrum activities that she pledged to her PAK she wouldn't complain about. She was done with this sort of adventuring, she only wanted to be a normal Irken. Grow up, find a job, maybe a mate and smeets, get old, then die. That was the natural process and it seemed so appealing.

The bridge doors opened and Yule stumbled inside. She panted hard from the entire stressful situation that she had not witnessed first-hand, but had still experienced the fear. "Red...Red is...he's dying. St'lar hurt him badly, he won't survive."

"Are you sure?" Purple asked, his voice choking up.

"It would take a miracle."

Nix, in an amazing moment of realization, smiled a knowing smile at Ria. He gestured stomping on something, then it rising back up. She remembered, she remembered what she had accidently done and how he had fixed it. Without telling anyone what she was doing, she took complete control of the Massive and directed it into deep space. The remains of the conjoined Armada followed directly behind, still confused on what had happened. The ships flew across the stars to the only destination that Ria knew could save Red.

The Umberenes saw them as falling stars.

* * *

Well, the end is near folks, that's all I can really say.


	25. Lord of the Universe

Lord of the Universe

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

"Ria! Ria! It has taken place, taken place!" The Massive had landed in the great plain, flattening the grass into a permanent carpet for miles around. Ships descended next to it and their pilots jumped out, still unaware of what had actually taken place in the stars. The Umberene people of Yarpe's village weren't afraid in the least; in fact, they galloped out to greet the space travelers.

"Yarpe!" Ria approached the _kurfeffa _and quieted his cheers. "I have someone who is gravely injured-"

"You!" his spindly finger pointed to her forehead. "You are Blessed, Blessed! Welcome sister!" His spider-like hands grasped hers and shook them so hard that her entire body was knocked off balance.

"Not now!" she ripped her hands back. "One of my friends is badly wounded, we must use the healing pool." The plains were now filled with ships and other alien species commingling with the simple Umberenes. Among them, Tenn and Zee guided a hover gurney with Red placed upon it. The two females were terrified out of their wits and didn't know where to go or what to do with the slowly dying male.

"Follow!" Nix launched himself into the trees. Ria grabbed control of the gurney and took off after him. The crowd tried to follow as well, but upon reaching the edge of the jungles they slid to a halt. They weren't used to such foliage and feared what might lie beyond it. Only a few fearlessly pressed onward to keep up with the Auto-Defects.

The gurney floated over most of the obstacles. Ria had it on a lead and guided it through the thick trees. The retreating form of Nix was always in her sights, there was no way she was letting it go. Red's life hung by a thread and only the pool would save him. Some things began to look familiar again. There was a slightly flattened patch where the native had attacked her and Xan. It shouldn't be too far now.

There. The pool rippled lightly as a few leaves fell from above and landed on its surface. For once, Ria thought about how this pool had acquired such magnificent powers, but she pushed the thought aside. She gently shoved the gurney so that it floated over the water. She and Nix stepped into the pool, trembling lightly as they felt an unnatural warmth sweep over them. Together, they tipped the gurney and dropped Red into the healing waters. They both spun around at the noise behind them, only to see that everyone else had caught up.

"This pool has healing powers," Ria explained. "I saw it bring a dead animal back to life."

"Eternal life?" said Tak. "Do you have any idea how many Empires would have liked to have this in their possession? Water that heals all wounds and never lets them die."

"It stays on this planet," Ria stated firmly. "No one is to take this water. You will be jailed for such a crime." Everyone nodded in agreement. Not a single drop would leave this pool.

Ria and Nix jumped out when Red's floundering form splashed the water over them. He sat up, gasping for each breath in great heaves of his chest. The hole in his shirt from the psychic strike was still there, but there was no wound to speak of, not even a scar. He pressed his hand against it then looked up at his audience. "I think I'm okay."

"I'm so sorry!" Yule sobbed. "You got hurt because of me and Fife! I don't what I would have done if you died, I- Neemi don't touch it!"

The smeet had knelt beside the pool, his pearl eyes wide with wonder at the rippling healing waters. His antennae were flat against his head. He couldn't hear them. Slowly, like he was hypnotized, his hand came up and reached out, his finger making its own ripple as it graced the surface. Nobody made a move to stop him. He continued to drag his finger over the surface until his other hand came as well. He cupped them together and lifted his own little pool into his hands. Before anything could be said, he drank it.

"He wishes to know the truth, the truth," said Yarpe.

"What truth?" Skoodge and Zee demanded. "What's going to happen to him?"

"Your son is very special, special. He sees beyond what you do, you do. He saw the now-time when in what is now the past-time."

Everyone stared at the _kurfeffa, _trying to work out what he had just said. Neemi still did not speak, but his body went slack and he seemed almost rejuvenated in a way. "He can see into the future," said Ria. "He saw the now-time when he was in the past. He's a seer."

"There's no such thing!" Zim argued. "Only Control Brains can do that and it's based on logic supplied at the present time."

"No!" Ria silenced him. "The Control Brains do take that logic and base what they think the future will be on what they have in their logic, but Neemi can actually _see _the future. He's a true seer. He saw this was going to happen."

"All those ramblings and cryptic messages," said Zee. "Were they really warnings of the future?"

"It was very unstable, unstable," Yarpe explained. "But the water will cure him. He will appear to you normal, normal. But he will never stop seeing."

Neemi turned around and spoke to them, for the first time without rhyming or sounding cryptic. "I feel much better now. All the voices stopped talking inside my head. They frightened me a lot, but now they're a lot quieter. I can get my own words through now."

"He was always speaking the voices' words, words. But now it is better."

* * *

The plain was still full of all sizes and shapes of ships and their pilots. Aliens mingled with one another, discussing what had just taken place in the stars. What _had _just taken place? Why weren't they dead? The Meekrob were frightened that they couldn't contact anyone on their home planet. There were no signals whatsoever. It was like all life just vanished.

"Comrades!" Ixane waved to Ria when she emerged from the jungles and descended the hill. "My elder wishes to speak with you. He demanded I bring him here." The elder of Ixane's species shuffled up to the Irken female. He pulled back his hood and revealed the blue arc across his forehead. He looked less decrepit somehow, like he taken a drink from the pool as well.

"You are among the Blessed," he said, reaching up to stroke her arc. She kneeled down so he could reach it. "You have saved your people."

"How?" she asked. "What does this mark mean? It was so painful..."

"Someone who is Blessed has been gifted with a great task, their whole planet has been. The Birth," he sweeped his arms over his head, to the sky, "obliterates everything and then all is reborn. But, there are chosen races who are not destroyed. They are chosen to live on and guide the new life on the new planets. Planet Umber...has lived through many Births."

"That's probably why the egg was here. This planet is Blessed and the egg had to be somewhere." She paused for a moment, looking around at the primitive technology of a planet that had survived many Births. "Wait, then why aren't the Umberenes a technologically advanced Empire? They could span this whole system!"

"Ah," the elder shook his head, "when a planet is Blessed, no more advances can be made. It is part of the deal. If a planet and species becomes too caught up in science and technology, their promise to the Zenza is forgotten. Look at the Irken Empire, you were not Blessed at the time, but the only hint of the Zenza was a smeet's tale. Imagine what living through multiple Births could accomplish technologically."

"The Umberenes are so primitive to keep themselves from forgetting the Zenza," Ria whispered. "Now that I'm Blessed, the Irken Empire has to live like this?"

"No," said the elder. "The Irken Empire may keep what it has, but nothing better can be made. Your ships are as they are, no more new technology. Everything you have must remain."

A law was going to be passed as soon as they returned home, she would ensure it did. No new technology, stick to what we have. They were now the guardians of a great task and technology would only get in the way. The Zenza had given them an amazing gift. She looked up and over to see the baby rolling in the long grass, some Umberene young dancing around it in play and worship. Nix also sat by, grinning happily at all the races grouped together on the plains.

"You are something else," the elder spoke again. "Unlike me, Blessed by the Zenza of before, you are Blessed by both."

"What? But this mark didn't appear until the baby licked me."

"The old Zenza's powers were very weak, but it did touch you with its tongue, yes?" Ria thought back to the single occasion she had encountered to old Zenza. _Had _it ever licked her? That tongue was so big one could walk on it... Her eyes leapt open when she remembered. The Zenza always used its tongue to lift her onto its head.

"It did Bless me."

"You are Blessed by two Zenza. I do not know how this will affect you and the Irken Empire, but I would just like to say it is simply amazing. Nothing like you has ever existed before."

"True, true," Yarpe loped over, his hands grasping the flat headpiece he wore. He lifted it off, revealing the blue arc of the Blessed. "When old Blessed dies, dies, a new one must be Blessed."

"But..." said Ria, "you can't get off the planet."

"The Egg, the Egg. The Egg held the key," he explained. "The baby is strong." He pointed back to the Zenza, only to realize it wasn't rolling in the grass anymore. Instead, the baby had moved to where Nix was still sitting...and was _licking _his forehead. Even from this distance, all three of them could see the blue arc forming across his brow.

"Why isn't he in pain?" Ria asked. "It almost killed me!"

"Pain?" said the elder. "I do not remember any pain in the process. Maybe it was a mixture of the old Zenza dying and the new one Blessing you."

Ria sank down into the grass. _But the new one saved me from the pain. _She decided to leave it be. A twinge was forming in her chest that grew more powerful the more she thought about the old Zenza. She choked back the tears and calmed herself. The pain faded. "So he's Blessed too."

"It would appear."

The golden eyed Irken stood back up. "We need to go home. There's just...so much that needs to happen." She gazed upon Nix and his blue arc. _Why does he exist? Miyuki never told me about him. Did she play a part in his survival too? Or did the Zenza? _"I have questions that need to be answered. I think the Control Brains could clear some things up."

* * *

Getting everyone home wasn't easy. The first task was revealing to the poor remaining Meekrob that their home and everyone who was on it was gone. Lady Frith'gen, at the time just resting at their version of a hospital, was now dead along with the majority of the species. Dev'yin, though reeling from the news, immediately seized power and calmed her people. They were now officially _her_ people.

Lard Nar spoke with the Vortian elders and a decision was made. For now and until Planet Meekrob was habitable again, the remaining Meekrob would settle at a portion of Planet Vort that would be set aside just for them to rebuild their numbers and culture. When the time came that their home could be recolonized, the Meekrob would rebuild then settle. A treaty was made up immediately and signed by both parties to ensure a home for the future generations.

The Massive was the last to leave. Ria wanted to make sure everyone knew where they were going before they took off. She was among the Blessed now and it was her responsibility to calm the survivors. The ships slowly lifted into the sky and darted away to their planets, some to make a new home, and others to reunite with family and friends.

"Dev'yin," the Meekrob female, never without her wisps, halted as Ria approached her. "What has happened to your planet is a tragedy, but the Meekrob are still members of the Alliance, that will never change." Ria reached up and pinched Dev'yin's spindly hand between her two claws. "Come with me." The two approached the baby Zenza, who turned its full attention onto Ria. "Dear Zenza, I beg that you Bless this friend so that a line of Blessed will exist with her people. They are good friends and I do not wish to see them die out."

The baby squeaked and wagged its tail, but did rear up on its hind legs, its four wings spread to help its balance. Dev'yin lowered herself near its head and accepted the sweeps of its tongue across her forehead. The blue arc, darker than the others so it would show up against her glowing blue skin, sprang into view in an instant.

"Thank you," the Meekrob whispered. "And Ria, I would like you to meet my children." Meekrob wisps looked like little glowing orbs due to an excess of energy emanating from them that had yet to be controlled at such a young age, but closer inspection revealed miniature versions of adult Meekrob. Dev'yin had four in tow with her, orphans she had adopted over time. "Three daughters, Ro'thu, Gif'la, and Frith'gen ll." Ria couldn't help but smile at the last name. "And a son, Zen'zu."

"Why not Klg'har? Or is that too much?"

"I will never forget my mate, but these are not his children and to give a wisp the name of a Meekrob who is not their father is an insult."

"Does that only apply to males?" Ria asked, recalling the name of Dev'yin's third daughter.

"For some strange reason, yes. It is only insulting to a male. I named my son after the Zenza, for it is because of this magnificent creature that we have all survived."

"But it's also its fault that your planet is gone."

"To rid the universe of St'lar...it was a fair sacrifice." She fluttered her hood to gather her wisps. "Come little ones, we're going home." Ria watched her friend disappear into her ship with her children in tow. She couldn't help but wonder if one of them, or one of their children, could become the next Blessed. But maybe that was a bad idea.

"Rule one concerning the new role of the Blessed," she said as she approached her family, "no supreme leader of the three nations can be Blessed. I want the role of the Blessed to be based on harmony and peace, being the leader of a planet will interfere with that. They may act as advisers for the leaders, but may not be one themselves."

* * *

_Ahh..._Miyuki couldn't help but sigh as she sensed the life signals of returning Irkens. Though there were many less than had originally set out, it was still a victory to know that their world would not be destroyed. Ria and the others would be returning soon. This nightmare was over and they could all get on with their lives.

_"For when the silver is joined with gold."_

"What?" she spoke aloud. One disadvantage to being an Irken turned into a Control Brain was that one never got used to their thoughts being constantly interrupted by all other Control Brains. The ones born for the job were made to be the way they are. "Please repeat."

_"For when the silver is joined with gold,_

_will seal the stars and forever hold_

_the hidden clue to our victory_

_the ultimate task of nations three."_

"What are you saying?" she asked again. _Gold and silver? Were they talking about Ria? Then who was silver?_

"Miyuki!" Another disadvantage was staying in this one place. Miyuki never noticed time passing and suddenly realized that her delving into these strange had passed enough time that Ria had returned. She immediately decided she wanted to be moved near a window. "Miyuki, I have questions that need to be answered and I think only the Control Brains can do it."

"Very well, what do you want to know?"

"I want all of them here, now." A sound similar to someone turning on a television or communication screen but getting no single filled the room. Underneath the hum, several voices could be heard milling about within each other. "Okay-"

"Ria!" Nix and Xan slid into the room. The male Irken stopped short upon seeing Miyuki and hearing the strange droning noise. He panicked and started to back away from this supposed threat.

"No, stay," Ria ordered. "This concerns you too. Miyuki, Control Brains, before you stands two Auto-Defects. I am aware of how I survived, but I do not know how my friend Nix escaped with his life. I wish to know why he is alive and was found on a previously uncharted planet."

The hum died out before a single booming voice filled the room. "It has come to our attention that the smeet named Neemi has discovered his powers of foretelling the future. We have been observing him closely for a long while."

"Why?"

"Seers are natural occurrences in any species. Irken seers, however, possess a certain trait. All Irken seers have light pink eyes, but not all Irkens with light pink eyes are seers. Long ago, before you were hatched, before the current Tallest were even mixed into their incubation tubes, there lived a female Irken named Zraz. She possessed the power to see into the future and foretold that one day, two Irkens, one of silver and one of gold, would gift our Empire with the greatest power."

_Was Miyuki being strung along then? _The sapphire Tallest had tricked the Control Brains into letting Ria live by saying it was an experiment, but did they lie to her and only let Ria live because she was in this forewarning? Wait, she had never met a Control Brain until she transferred Miyuki into her current body. They couldn't have known.

"The prophecy did not say the Irkens were Auto-Defects," the voice continued. "But when an Auto-Defect with silver eyes came along after Zraz's death, we knew we had the one she spoke of. Silver and gold are such rare colors." All the voices suddenly joined together to repeat the words the seer had spoken many years ago.

_"The Irken born with silver eyes_

_for in his time be in disguise._

_For when the silver is joined with gold_

_will seal the stars and forever hold_

_the hidden clue to our victory_

_the ultimate task of nations three._

_For when silver and gold do emerge together_

_the ultimate power is ours forever."_

"You do have the ultimate power, the power of the Blessed." Ria swiped her hand across the arc carved into her skin. "As long as a single Blessed exists on this planet, it will never be destroyed by the Birth."

The voices began mumbling to one another until the loud one spoke again. "This has been received and confirmed. Zraz's words are indeed true. You two together have brought us the greatest power, that of the Lord of the Universe."

"Go now?" Nix whispered. The hum started up again, so Ria decided it was time to leave. She bid farewell to Miyuki and left the chamber with her silver counterpart and Xan. Upon emerging from the hospital, she looked around at what she was able to see. Irken ships zooming around as their pilots whooped with joy. Families and friends reuniting with tears and smiles. There were so many possibilities for a species that would never die out.

"We have so much potential," she said aloud.

"We?" Nix asked, wringing his hands. "We...so much for we."

"Us," she corrected.

"Not matter. Still like the...the idea. So much for us... _us_?" He stopped speaking and looked up, spying the spiraling form of the baby Zenza in flight. Without warning, he and Xan scampered off toward the Massive, leaving Ria to follow. The Zenza landed in the gardens, expertly flicking its wings down over its back.

"I guess you have to go now." It chirped in response to Ria's statement. "You have to be the Seer of Things. I...I thank you for saving my planet, from the Birth and St'lar." She hugged it around the neck. "Goodbye...Zenza." The baby gave her face one last lick before spreading its wings again and lifting off the ground. All four limbs beat downward into a strong lift that shot the baby into the stars. Ria didn't know if she would ever see it again, but decided she shouldn't worry about it. Maybe their paths would cross again, maybe they wouldn't. The future was vague on certain subjects.

"What do now?" Nix asked.

"What do we do? Anything we want! We're the Heroes of the Empire, of the Alliance. We could get away with anything. But, for now, let me show you around your birthplace." He liked to walk extremely close to her, something she took immediate notice off. She knew some animal species to be very protective of their chosen mates. Nix had an animalistic mind...so did he think that they were...?

_Hey...why not?_

* * *

__just one more update after this


	26. Neemi

Neemi

I don't own Invader Zim

* * *

The elder Irken let out a wheezy sigh. Outside, he could hear Umberene children playing, basking in the light and knowledge of the universe that surrounded them. In a way, the Umberenes were the most intelligent of species in the stars. He was glad to spend his final days with them. His early childhood had been fraught with danger, but it was right after the Birth of the new universe that he calmed the many voices inside his head.

Neemi was a seer. Ever since healing his mind enough to be coherent to his fellow Irkens, his condition became almost legendary. He once had a group of three Irken scientists that shadowed him, jotting down every word he said whether it applied to his abilities or not. It frightened him at first, but then he came to realize how valuable he truly was. He could see into the future. But even with such a gift, some things could not be foreseen.

He was old now, his parents had passed, as well as the other adults of his family from the time of St'lar's plot. Tallest Zim, his empress Tak, Exel, Tenn, all of them...they were gone. To concrete their memory in Irken history, the new Tallest, a red-eyed female named Wim, had a grand museum erected to commemorate all the heroes of Irk's past. All their PAKs were placed on display with the most technologically advanced security system that they were allowed to have under the ruling of Ria and Nix, the Blessed.

It would soon be their time to go. Everyone could see it. The blue arcs on their foreheads had almost faded to gray, their antennae drooped very low, and their skin had faded. But no matter how old they got, every Irken could still see the amazing youthful heroes of the Alliance. Nix never quite got his spine straitened after years of walking on all-fours, so he never stood upright. But his true intelligence was never taken lightly.

Their first son, Remo, was the new Blessed. He had made the journey all by himself, then recounted it in a new series of archives that would be kept of each Blessed one's pilgrimage to the Zenza. His sisters, Nea and Purx, and his brother, Evnu, all became keepers of these archives, to maintain them until their time came to pass and the duty was passed on.

Neemi sighed heavily again. The Alliance had prospered after the Birth. The Meekrob had a flourishing population in their reserved district on Vort. A male Meekrob named Hil'surn was the new Blessed. He was very young, but everyone had faith in him, especially his mate Ro'thu, Dev'yin's daughter. The Alliance was full of new leaders now, but the lessons learned from the old had to be taught well.

Even so, Neemi shuddered as he recalled a gruesome vision. A group of aliens of mixed races would rise very soon. At first, they would seem harmless and they were. No one could object to worshipers of the great Zenza. But as time would pass, they would grow more and more corrupt. Neemi could see it all. The Alliance would be strained again with the threat of this new enemy and the ties to the three nations could be severed forever.

Through it all, he couldn't help but think of Ezzy and Gif'la's disappearance had something to do with it. Ezzy never regained her ability to speak. The halt in technology in order to keep Blessed rights prevented it and she didn't want a robotic replacement. However, she didn't let it get her down; in fact, she partnered up with Gif'la the Meekrob and they explored the far reaches of the new universe together. Then, without warning, they completely vanished. But he knew they weren't gone completely.

Tired pearly eyes drifted to an old-fashioned scroll haphazardly tossed on a pile of similar-looking ones. That specific scroll held the words of one of his voices. It foretold of the rise of a monster the Irken Empire had put to rest before even Operation Impending Doom l began. It was too dangerous, but someone in the future was going to find it...and they were going to use it.

Neemi shut his head and laid his head back its rest on his chair. There was nothing he could do. He could only live out his days with the Umberenes, reading letters transmitted from his two sons of their adventures, and wait for his words to come true. That scroll would wait for a long time, long enough that Neemi was gone, as well as his children, his children's children, and so on for many generations. It held the words of the next great threat to the Alliance. So it waited for it to be found by the ones who would save it.

_Girlie pearlie, eyes of fear_

_see the far and see the near._

_Always wrong, yet always true_

_the journey started before they knew._

_Wires and circuits awake from the tomb_

_hatred and secrets to spell out their doom._

_Call away, castaway, into the rage_

_the Nation and Three to form up a cage._

_And spectral ghosts who attack from below_

_will disrupt the order they've all come to know._

_And the secrets that rest with amethyst eyes_

_will rise at the fall or fall as they rise. _

* * *

Well, that's the end of The Zenza. As you can see, I did set up for a sequel and one is currently in production. I do not know when I will get around to it though, so don't wait up for it. It may take a while. Anyway, I'd like to thank those who stuck with this story from the beginning and I'm sorry about my hiatus. Thanks for reading

~The Strawberry Phoenix


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